Entropy
by Rizzling
Summary: Jane and Maura find themselves in a familiar world of danger when a shadow from Jane's past returns. All is not as it at first, may appear.
1. Entropy

Entropy.

**Entropy:** en-tro-py (n.)  
>1. A statistical measure of the disorder in a closed system<br>2. Lack of order or predictability: gradual decline into disorder

Detective Jane Rizzoli parked her car in the only available parking space for two blocks and sighed heavily as she turned off the engine. She's been at work for what had felt like a week when in fact, it had been 16 hours. She was already almost 2 hours late for the 'surprise' birthday party her mother had organised for her and Frankie had told her about the week prior. She'd made as many excuses as possible to not go to her parents' home that night and yet, she still found herself parked in the area she'd grown up in.

As she stepped from the car, she cursed her friend and colleague Maura Isles for having had a previous engagement, some social event that she couldn't get out of, or so she'd said, and since she knew that Maura couldn't lie for her life, she plodded up the street alone. Four doors down from her parents' home, she heard someone shouting to 'get in the house' and smiled to herself. Given her line of work, Jane wondered if maybe, her mother had a death wish. As a homicide detective, Jane always carried her standard issue firearm with her, so having people jump out of dark rooms at an armed woman suddenly didn't seem all that smart. Smiling at the thought, Jane walked up the driveway, whistling loudly and chuckling when she heard the faint sound of a woman still barking orders.

Pushing the door open loudly, Jane rolled her eyes into the darkened room. Her parents almost never turned any lights off so the fact that the house was in darkness was cause enough for suspicion.

"Oh damn! They're not in!" Jane said loudly, the sarcasm in her tone evident. "I should probably go back home." She stepped into the room and closed the front door, waiting patiently for the guests to jump out, yelling surprise and throwing streamers. Nothing.

"Hello?" she called into the darkness, reaching out for the light switch and flicking it on. The house was totally devoid of people, everything was in its place, and the kitchen was immaculate but empty.

"Mom?" Jane yelled loudly, walking through into the dining room only to find that empty too.

"Daddy?" she called up the stairs. Still no reply, no sounds, no streamers but she definitely had a surprise.

As a last ditch attempt, Jane headed out into the garden, wondering if the party was out there. Pulling a flashlight from her belt, she guided its beam around the silent yard. The only thing out there was the neighbours' overweight cat who hissed at her before waddling off towards the large shrubs at the back of the yard. Heading back into the house, Jane locked the back door and headed back towards her car. "Surprise!" she mumbled to herself as she started the engine and pointed the car back towards her apartment.

Pulling the car into the garage of her apartment building, Jane made a mental note to return the favour and prank her brother, possibly an emergency call in the sewer system. She'd stopped for Chinese and a bottle of red wine on her way and her stomach rumbled in anticipation. In her bag, her cell phone rang, the ringtone giving away the identity of the caller.

"Hi Ma." She said wearily. Her mother's voice exploded loudly from the earpiece and it was obvious that she'd had a couple of glasses of wine. Her disembodied voice filled the car and Jane sighed as she listened to a graphic description of some chicken dish she had eaten earlier in the evening. "No thanks ma, I'm just going home, I don't want to meet you at the restaurant." Her mother berated her about being alone on her birthday. "MOM!" Jane snapped, silencing her mother almost instantly. "In a half hour, it won't even be my birthday so it doesn't matter. I'll talk to you tomorrow." She turned the phone off and threw it back in her bag.

Something wasn't right in the hallway of the building. Nothing looked out of place and yet Jane felt distinctly uneasy. Easing slowly down the corridor, she glanced quickly around the corner towards the door of her apartment. Once again, nothing was out of place. She sighed heavily; the case she'd been working on had gotten to her more than she thought. A woman had been stalked for months before her stalker had broken in to her home and raped, tortured and murdered her. Jane had been seeing shadows at every turn since she was detailed the case.

Sliding the key in her door, she pushed it open and slid down the back of the door, opening her egg rolls and eating them in the dark.  
>Suddenly, the overheard light snapped on, causing Jane to immediately drop her food and reach for her gun.<p>

"SURPRISE!"

Her mother, father, Frankie and Maura called from the kitchen, waving their hands in the air and grinning. Relaxing her grip on the butt of her weapon, Jane got to her feet, shaking her head.

"I nearly shot you all!" she said with a grin, as she hugged each person in turn.

"You're so late Jane." Her mother scolded her gently while brushing her hair from her face. "You have such a pretty face, why don't you tie your hair back?" She continued while scooping her hair back into a ponytail.

"Ma!" Jane pulled away quickly.

"I thought you said you couldn't lie?" Jane confronted her friend, raising one carefully sculpted eyebrow.

"I didn't lie!" Maura replied. It was obvious from her tone that the indignity she voiced was fake. "I told you I couldn't go for a drink with you because I had a prior engagement." Which was the truth; Maura had spoken to Angela Rizzoli earlier in the week and been browbeaten to attend the surprise party and sworn to secrecy at the same time.  
>Before Jane could continue her interrogation of her friend, Frankie wrapped her in a hug, planting a kiss on her cheek. "Happy birthday sis!" he cheered in her ear. It was obvious he'd been enjoying a few party beers before she'd gotten home.<p>

"I thought you said to go to Mom's!" Jane growled, pulling him out of earshot of her mother. "And where the hell are the guests?"

Frankie backed away, holding up his hands. "She found out I'd told you and had lied to me. It was going to be here the whole time."

"Well why didn't you tell me?"

Frankie laughed. "I only found out today. She told me to come to your apartment and pick you up; when I got here she was blowing up balloons." Jane punched him in the arm as her father handed her a beer.

"Don't rough house with your brother!" her mother called across the room, causing both Jane and her father to turn and roll their eyes at her.

"Happy birthday princess." Frank said, kissing Jane softly on her forehead. "Sorry about this." It was clear from his tone that he had also been nagged into submission by his wife. "I didn't want to do something like this but your mother insisted."

"Jane!" Angela called, interrupting their conversation.

"Yes Ma?" All Jane really wanted to do was curl up with her Chinese and a glass of wine and relax. It seemed that, despite the hour, her mother had other ideas.

"Is that what you're going to wear at your party?" She looked her daughter up and down disapprovingly. "Why don't you go and change into something pretty?"

"But Ma…."

Maura grabbed Jane's hand. "Come on, I'll help you." She said, pulling her friend into the bedroom.

"I'm not getting changed!" Jane protested as Maura closed the bedroom door behind them.

"What? Oh no, that would be completely ridiculous." Maura agreed. "I just, well, it's not that I don't…."

"You needed to get away from my mother!" Jane laughed as she fell onto her bed, sighing heavily.

"Yes." Maura agreed, sliding onto the bed next to Jane. "I believe she may have acute logorrhoea."

Jane rolled on her side, her brow furrowed in confusion.

"You think my mom has a cute what?" She asked, clearly incredulous that her friend found anything about her mother 'cute'

"Not cute, acute. Logorrhoea." Maura clarified gently. "It's a psychological condition where the sufferer talks too much, often incoherently."

Jane burst into laughter, the action causing the bed to shake noticeably beneath the pair. From the other room, both women could hear Angela still wondering aloud why it was her daughter couldn't dress nicely for her birthday celebrations and their laughter was only fuelled when they heard her send Frankie in to 'check up on them'.

Frankie knocked on the door and paused; he could hear the headboard of the bed knocking on the wall and stopped, staring incredulously at the solid door before taking a few flustered steps backwards.

"Frankie?" Angela called out to her son, but her voice was clearer and she had obviously joined him in the hallway. "What's the matter?"

Frankie grabbed his mother's arm and pulled her away from the door. "Come on Ma, lets light the candles on the cake, they're gonna need a minute." He told her sternly, his face a deep crimson as his imagination ran wild with what his sister might be doing on the other side of the door.

Both Jane and Maura sat up, staring at the door and straining to hear why Frankie had failed to come into the room. As Jane's giggles returned, Maura got to her feet. It was then that she realise their laughter had had the bed shaking and she stared at Jane.

"Oh my god, Jane!"

Her exclamation did nothing to ease Jane's laughter and she rolled onto her side, holding her stomach and wheezing.

"Jane it really isn't funny. They think we're…"

Jane coughed and wiped her eyes as she sat up slowly.

"Think we're what?" Jane asked as she composed herself. It had been a long while since she'd really laughed and she'd needed it.

"Maura?" she looked back and forth between her friend and the door, trying to work out what had happened while she'd be incapacitated with the giggles.

"They think we're, you know….."

Jane shook her head, "We're wha…" Realisation dawned over Jane and she felt the giggles returning with a vengeance.

"They think we're copulating!" Maura exclaimed loudly, before clamping her hands over her mouth.

That was the final straw for Jane and she gave herself over entirely to the giggles.

"Frankie!" Angela pulled herself from her son's grasps and stood in the kitchen with her hands on her hips. "Why do you man-handle your mother in such a way, really?"

Frankie ignored his mother's remonstrations and pulled open the nearest drawer in his search from some matches to light the candles with. He was sure he'd jumped to a conclusion but he could have sworn that he had heard Maura exclaiming; 'oh my god.' He tried to push the images from his mind; after all, Jane was his sister.

"What are you doing?" Angela asked as she came around the counter to his side.

"Matches Ma, we need matches for the candles." Frankie pushed the drawer closed and tried another. It contained only silverware.

Angela seemed content to be set a challenge and started pulling open drawers and cupboards before pausing and turning to her husband who had taken refuge on the sofa with Jo Friday.

"Frank?" she called, causing the man to roll his eyes and shake his head. "Where are the matches?" Frank Rizzoli Senior looked momentarily surprised by the request before remembering that his sole job in the organisation of this party had been to bring matches.

"I left them in the car." He sighed, getting to his feet in a hurry before Angela could begin to scold him for forgetting.

Emerging from the bedroom, Jane had managed to control her laughter and, despite Maura's best efforts she had managed to not laugh in all of 3 minutes. She found it hard to believe that Frankie would think she and Maura were sleeping together.  
>As they walked into the kitchen, Frankie turned and almost immediately looked away again.<p>

"See." Maura claimed proudly, "He's displaying clear idiopathic craniofacial erythema."

"Idiot crane what?" Jane asked.

"He's blushing!" Maura clarified as she nudged Jane in the ribs.

Frankie busied himself with some dishes while his sister giggled childishly behind him. He found himself chuckling along with her as he washed and was pleased that she was happy.

"Aw Janie, you didn't change and you're so crinkled." Angela protested as she tried to straighten out her daughters crumpled t-shirt.

"Ma!" Jane batted her mother's hands away from her and wriggled from her grasp as Maura handed her a beer.

"What will your guests think?" The indignation in her mother's voice stopped Jane in her tracks and she turned neatly on the ball of her foot.

"There are no guests Ma." Jane said, extending her arms and spinning in the near empty room. "There's you and Frankie and Maura!"

On hearing her name, Maura turned, her brow wrinkled in confusion. "The dictionary defines guest as; 'One who is a recipient of hospitality at the home or table of another." She explained, a mischievous grin dancing on her lips.

Angela smirked at her daughter as she handed Maura a glass of red wine.

"Or," Maura continued, raising her glass towards the scowling detective. "One to whom entertainment or hospitality has been extended by another in the role of host or hostess, as at a party."

Jane poked her friend in the ribs, "You just can't stop it, can you?"

Before anyone had a chance to respond, the front door burst open to reveal Frank, Frost and Korsak.

"Happy Birthday!" the men cheered, extending their gift laden arms towards Jane.

"See Janie, guests!" Angela mumbled as she pushed past her to greet the new arrivals.


	2. Smoky Hues of You

In the frozen Boston night rain pounded hard on anything and anyone foolish enough to be caught outside. From the sidewalk it was clear to see that Jane Rizzoli was enjoying her birthday. Her friends and family encircling her in warmth and love as the usual birthday accruements littered her apartment. Balloons and streamers were clearly visible and the soft sound of laughter filtered into the night before being engulfed by the rain.

The click of the camera was loud in the silent street. It echoed and, for the briefest of seconds drowned out everything else. Click. Jane was dancing. Click. Her bottle of beer foaming over as she moved. Click. Her friend, the medical examiner wiping foam from her dress. Click. Jane laughing heartily, the usually intense detective at ease and her life and her herself.

* * *

><p>Sirens wailed loudly, the emergency lights carving a momentary path through the thick smoke as the guards coughed and spluttered. They shouted orders as they pushed prisoners out the doors and into waiting vans.<br>What had started as a seemingly innocuous fire in the laundry room had somehow been missed and, with a feast of material to gorge on, had exploded into the main body of the prison, forcing an evacuation.

Smoke filled every nook and crevice and the understaffed guards dragged prisoners out like ark animals. The lesser offenders had been sent to the yard, told to await the outcome while the majority of the guards returned for the more dangerous prisoners.

In his cell, Charles Hoyt smiled, his weathered face curling into an expression of sheer delight as the smoke around him got thicker. He knew that there would be one chance. One split second where he could make his move and, one reason to do so.

The buzzing sound that indicated the cell doors on his floor opening ripped through the already frantic scene and almost immediately, footsteps clanged on the gridded metal floor.

"Doctor." He didn't need to see the person who spoke to him, he knew this would work. He'd had many years to perfect his plan and phase one was going superbly. "It's time."

The guards appeared at his door, he could tell they were exhausted and finding it hard to breathe. "C'mon Hoyt!" It wasn't a question but an order and Hoyt pulled himself to his feet, allowing them to handcuff him and place a blanket over his head to protect from the smoke. He felt the resentment radiate from them for having to perform such and act and it thrilled him. He knew they would sooner let him burn. It wouldn't take much to incapacitate them in their current state.  
>As they descended the stairs, it got harder to see. Hoyt smiled. The fire must have been raging for longer than he'd thought. The entire building was dense with smoke and he coughed violently. The guards lost their already fragile grip on the man and he crumpled to the ground.<p>

"Get up!"

Hoyt grinned as he felt the warmth of another body near his own. Soon enough it would be the one he wanted but for now, this one would do. He pulled the collar of his jump suit up and crawled away from the boots of his captors.

The guards reached down, fumbling recklessly for their prisoner. Getting to his feet slowly, the guards tightened their grip on the prisoner and dragged him towards the daylight.

Hoyt stayed as low as he could to the floor, his own breathing coming in short and ragged gasps as he reached the prison kitchen. He trusted in the predictability of the human condition and was pleased to see he'd been right to do so. In their hurry to locate the source of the fire, the guards had left the main door unlocked. While he knew that there would be no knives or anything else vaguely useful he could take, he knew about the broken catch on the window. It was all he ever needed from the room that provided food so abominable that pigs would turn their snouts up in disgust.  
>As he slid his body through the small gap, he inhaled deeply, taking in the charred smell of death that permeated the air. Someone hadn't made it out. Crawling towards the fence line, Hoyt scanned the treeline, looking for the sign. His eyes stung and streamed with tears, making it hard to see but it was there. The glint of moonlight off of a mirror, guiding him to a pre-cut hole in fence. It was too easy. The whole plan had been fantastical in its simplicity, but it was always the simple ones that work, the ones that took him to Jane.<p>

He made it through the first fence without issue, the second one, older and less defined in its exterior caught his jumpsuit, tearing the back of the material.

"Dr?" The voice growled from the obsidian blackness before him before strong hands dragged him forwards and into the woods.

* * *

><p>Sun shone into Jane's eyes and she squirmed away from its glare.<p>

"Eugh." She mumbled, burying her head into the pillow. From the floor next to her, Jo Friday barked insistently.

"Jo." Jane waved her head in the general direction of her dog, hoping the action would be enough to silence the animal. "Jo!" she growled again, her voice raspier and smokier than usual.  
>It had been a late night. The beer and wine had flowed freely into the wee small hours, as many of her friends from the department had swung by to wish her the best; many bringing more beer, some gifts and Jane had indulged herself. This morning, she knew she'd been foolish.<p>

"Good morning!"

Jane squinted towards the voice and found herself stunned to see Maura in the doorway, fully clothed and pristine as ever, holding a large mug of what she hoped was coffee.

"You. No!" she mumbled, burying her head under the pillow.

"Jane." Maura sat gently on the edge of the bed and gentle shook her shoulder. "You need to drink this."

From under the pillow, Jane grunted something that Maura couldn't make out.

"It'll help with the hypoglycaemia, dehydration….."

Jane sat up suddenly, the room spinning wildly as she did so and her hand shot out, covering Maura's mouth and silencing her.

"Walking Google." She growled, regretting the sudden movement that caused her stomach to somersault wildly. "Just….. don't."

She took the mug and drank deeply from it.

"Damn Maura." She gulped loudly as the excessively sweet liquid coated her mouth and throat with enough sugar to kill a diabetic at 50 paces. "What the hell…." She put the mug on the side table and hid her face in her hands.

"You need to drink that." Maura's tone was soft, and she cocked her head to one side like a curious cocker spaniel as Jane crawled, literally, from the bed and into the bathroom. "It'll make you feel better."

From the sounds emanating from the bathroom just moments later, it was obvious that no amount of sweet tea would make Jane feel any better at all.

"Let me get you a glass of water." Maura called towards the door as Jane groaned into the toilet bowl.

* * *

><p>Fresh from the shower, Charles Hoyt stepped into the tiny apartment and sat in front of his wall. His apprentice had done an admirable job. The wall was covered with images of Jane. He smiled at the pictures, some he'd seen previously, some that were new to him but each one would be studied, memorised and cherished.<p>

He reached for the file on the coffee table next to him and opened its simple manila cover.

"Ahh, Jane." He sighed happily. Freshly printed pictures of Jane in the grocery store. He could see from the images that she bought only the basics of what she would need. Meals for one. A single 6 pack of beer. A single bottle of wine. The monotony of the task was etched on her face. He studied her long dark hair, flowing over her shoulders in an unkempt chocolate waterfall. His fingers reached out and brushed the image, he could almost smell her. Lavender and fear; his favourite scent. He set one image from the group aside, before returning his attention to a sheet of paper.

It was a request for leave from the Boston Police Department. Only 3 days. At the bottom it was signed J. Rizzoli. His fingers traced the script and he could see her signing the form without ever giving it another thought. She would never suspect that he would be reading this form. He placed it carefully on top of the photographs and picked up the next photograph. It was already his favourite.

"Happy Birthday Jane." He smiled as he reached for his scalpel and sliced her head out of the image.

* * *

><p>"Do you feel better?" Maura asked as Jane stepped into the living room and collapsed onto the couch.<p>

"No." Jane grumbled. She felt like road kill and Maura's immaculate presentation and distinct lack of any hangover symptoms at all were infuriating her.

"That's a shame." Maura sat next to her on the sofa, Jo Friday jumping into her lap almost immediately. "I didn't get a chance to give you your gift."

Jane brightened at the thought. In truth, she did feel much better, the tea and breakfast that Maura had made for her had done a lot to brighten her mood, although she was sure that it had been the copious and somewhat violent vomiting that had, in fact made all the difference.

Chugging almost a full bottle of water, she bounced gently on the sofa. "Yay. Gifts!" the childish delight in her eyes made Maura chuckle, it had been a long time since she had seen Jane this happy and it warmed her heart, maybe more than she let on.

Lifting herself delicately from the worm material, she crossed to the hall closet where she had stored Jane's gift the previous evening. He fingers shook slowly as she reached for the deep blue covered box. 'What if Jane didn't like it?' It was a thought that had consumed her for almost three weeks. She'd had lengthy discussions with Angela and Frankie about what the best gift for Jane would be but neither had been very forthcoming. In the end, she'd had to rely on her own instinct and it was that that made her nervous now.

"If you don't like it, you can change it." She called from the hall. "In fact, I'll just take it back now and save you the journey." She pulled the box from the cupboard and headed towards the door, pulling her coat from the stand by the door.

"Erm, Maur…." Jane looked up, her brow furrowed in confusion.

Maura turned smartly, pausing to see what Jane had to say.

"Can I see it?" The deep brown eyes that met hers made Maura feel both safe and a little foolish. Of course Jane would like the gift, and even if she didn't she would say that she did. It was a quality that Maura loved about her.

The staccato beat of her heels across the hardwood made Jane recoil involuntarily. It was like gunfire in her already delicate brain but she smiled regardless.

Maura always did this. She panicked about buying gifts for people, hoping they would like it and terrified they wouldn't. Jane had watched as Maura had given a gift to an old friend; she'd eagerly opened the parcel and Maura's usually bright expression had fallen when the friend had glared at her, throwing the parcel back into the doctors lap. Maura had left the room, silently, with the heartbreak of another rejection stretched painfully across her face. They'd never spoken of the incident and yet Jane promised herself that she would never be the cause of that look.

"Happy birthday." Maura extended the box towards her, her face beaming with a brilliant smile but the tremor in her voice undermining it.

Jane grinned as she tore into the parcel. Normally Maura would be reminding her to save the paper, or telling her about the ribbon but she remained stoic, the anticipation filling the room with tension.

Jane threw the wrapping onto the floor next to her, pausing only to roll her eyes as Maura swooped down and collected it. In her hands she held a deep crimson box, the words; 'For Jane' etched into the top. She ran her fingers over the engraving and was surprised to see them tremble. Whatever this box contained, it was clear that Maura had put a lot of thought into it and she prayed that she would like it.

The silence was deafening as Jane lifted the lid.

"I hope you like it." Maura began before Jane had really taken in what she was looking at. "It's hand-made from the finest cowhide and lined with resin bonded suede. All hand stitched with the finest quality threads." The words fell from her lips, anything so that she couldn't hear the disappointment in Jane's voice.

Jane reached in and pulled the gun holster from the box. She turned it over in her hands and smiled. She never realised that something so simple, so necessary for her life, could be so beautiful.

"It's hand moulded around your own service weapon." Maura continued her word vomit, "so that you get a precise lock for your own weapon."

Silence once again filled the air and Jane eventually looked up with tears stinging the corners of her eyes. She got to her feet and crossed to stand before her friend. "It's beautiful." She whispered, drawing Maura into a fierce bear hug and knocking the wind out of her. "I love it."

As they pulled apart, Maura couldn't suppress the grin that danced in her eyes as well as across her lips. "You like it, really because I can change it for something you'd really want but I did notice your old one was getting rather shabby."

"Maura!" Jane couldn't help but bite. When it mattered, when she was face to face with her father, Maura could be so courageous, so self-confident but standing her, in Jane's apartment she seemed to doubt herself more than ever before. She wished her friend would trust in her own instincts.

"It's perfect." Jane's eyes fixed Maura in place, the warmth and love she felt for her friend pouring from every pore. "Thank you."


	3. Hit

For three days, Charles Hoyt sat in front of his wall; he didn't speak, barely ate and moved only to use the bathroom. He studied her, her eyes, her body, and her movements. He didn't need to see her in person; not yet. Their time would come soon enough.

"Doctor?"

Hoyt turned enough to see the shape of another person in his peripheral vision. It was all he needed. He had taught his apprentice well. They communicated almost non-verbally now.

"I have the schedules you wanted."

Another file was placed next to him and he glanced at it very briefly.

"Thank you Robin." Hoyt almost growled, his plan was coming together far too easily for his liking. It was unlike Jane or even the fat cop to be so easy to get to. It was ruining his enjoyment. If he didn't have to work to get her, where was the fun? Hoyt's face twisted into a grotesque smile. 'The fun is in the killing.' he thought as he opened the file he'd received.

"She's still with the good Doctor." Hoyt said; not quite a question but not sure enough to be a statement.

"Robin." The singsong quality in his voice was, in any other conversation, a comical interlude but Robin knew when Hoyt did it that it signalled danger.

"I'm not sure I understand your meaning." The tremor in Robin's voice made Hoyt smile to himself. 'Still unsure; cautious of me'. He thought.

"Jane. And the Doctor… Isles?" Hoyt clarified. He needed to know how close the pair were, if they were still as close as they had been the last time they'd met. He looked forward to this exchange, to watching Jane suffer as he gutted her lover, and then her. "These pictures show them together, a lot." He paused for dramatic effect, his warped mind filled with images of Jane and Maura together. Jane's hands scarred and often sore, dancing over the Doctors' amble bosom, down her soft torso. "She means a lot to Jane." It wasn't a question, a simple fact.

"Are they…. Lovers." He tasted the word, its flavour as delicious as he imagined Jane to be.

Robin flustered on the spot. Everything that had been asked, there had been an answer for. Except this.

"I…. I…. well, I don't know." Hoyt's face twisted viciously. "I'll find out!"

"You do that." Hoyt growled and laughed as his apprentice scurried out of the room.

* * *

><p>Maura studied the samples under her microscope. It was a case that had recently been closed but it was a slow week for murders in Boston and she was bored. The autopsy room was immaculate, even more so than usual. She had scrubbed everything twice over and then started again.<p>

In the silent room, her phone rang loudly, startling her from her studies.

"Hey." She said, welcoming the call from Jane. She paused, listening to the detective. She was in full work mode and Maura smiled. She loved how in control Jane was, her authoritative tone that got things done.

"Ok, I'll expect the body soon then." Maura replied. It was clear Jane was in no mood for chit chat so she ended the call and returned her phone to the desk.

Jane surveyed the scene before her. A typical suburban street in a nice neighbourhood, driveways dotted with SUVs and sensible family vehicles. It seemed like a good place to raise a family. Still she stood here, crime scene tape boarding off the scene immediately before her and a large blood stain pooled on the kerb to the left of the driveway.

Cameras flashed around her as everyone moved in a synchronised ballet of evidence collection. Frost emerged from the crowd and smiled.

"So?" Jane looked at him expectantly.

"88 year old male, heard a sound outside and got up to check. Someone was stealing the car and he tried to stop them, they ran him over. Wife and grandson found him."

"Spoken to the wife?"

Frost shook his head, "I thought you'd wanna do that."

Jane nodded and headed towards the house with Frost matching her pace.

"Mrs DeLuca?" Jane asked as an elderly woman opened the door slowly. She was frail and slow, her body seeming to move without input from the woman herself. She was in shock.

The woman looked up slowly, taking in details of the people standing on her porch. She would never remember these people that much she knew. It was about all she knew.

"Mrs DeLuca?" Frost asked again.

She nodded. Her eyes finally meeting the detectives one by one. "Detectives Frost and Rizzoli." Jane introduced them slowly. "May we come in?"

Mrs DeLuca stepped slowly aside and gestured for them to come in. She offered them a seat and some coffee before taking her own seat and hanging her head.

"We were married 68 years y'know? Back in the spring of 1943." She paused to wipe her face with tissue pulled from her sleeve. "He was home from the war…" Tears choked her voice and she fell into silence.

"I'm so sorry for your loss Mrs DeLuca" Jane moved to sit beside her, reaching out a hand as some small comfort.

"Are you married Detective?" Mrs DeLuca looked up suddenly.

"No Ma'am, I'm not." Jane replied.

"You?" Mrs DeLuca's attention turned to Frost, who shook his head.

"That's a shame."

"Mrs DeLuca." Jane continued softly. "We need to ask you some questions about last night."

Mrs DeLuca nodded. "Procedure." She mumbled. "Protocol."

Jane smiled. "Yes. Could you tell us what you saw?"

Mrs DeLuca looked up at her slowly. "Well my eyesight isn't as good as it was." She admitted sadly, "We went to bed about 9.30, after my shows." She began, "Arthur heard a noise at about 10pm and got up to look." Sobs wracked her body and Jane reached into her pocket for another tissue. "When he didn't come back, I got up to see. He was in the garden, shouting at a man in the car. He was trying to stop him and then he... the man…. He was in the car and he… he…."

"It's ok Mrs DeLuca. We'll find who did this!" Jane promised as the woman fell into her shoulder, her body shaking with tears.

"Grams?" Frost jumped to his feet immediately as a young man entered the room.

Mrs DeLuca looked up and wiped at her face with the saturated tissues. "Please excuse me." She said, getting to her feet. "I need a moment to compose myself."

"What's happening?" the young man asked. "Who are you?"

"Detectives Frost and Rizzoli, Boston homicide. You're Jason?" Frost showed the boy his badge and gestured for him to sit. He nodded and collapsed into the nearest chair. "We're investigating your grandfather's murder." Jane told him, as she got to her feet and lifted a photograph from the fireplace. "You were close?" She asked nonchalantly as she surveyed the room.

"Yes. He raised me after my parents died." Jason explained.

"And where were you last night?" Jane asked, her eyes lingering on concert tickets that fell from behind another photograph. They were intact, unused but dated for the previous evening.

"I was here." Jason told her.

"All night?" Frost jumped in and drew Jason's attention to him. He knew Jane had seen something out of the ordinary.

"Yes. I was meant to go to a concert but I failed Chem. And Gramps said I couldn't go."

"That's gotta have made you mad?" Jane said, almost under her breath.

"I didn't kill my grandfather Detective!" Jason snapped. Jane looked at him innocently, her deep brown eyes softening as she met his tear laden gaze. "I mean, I was pissed. I paid a lot for the tickets but Gramps said that I wouldn't be allowed to go if my grades didn't pick up. I studied for a while and was online, then I went to bed about 10."

"You didn't talk to anyone?" Frost asked. He hated alibis like this, you couldn't prove or disprove them.

"Not really. I was chatting on a forum and I skype'd my girlfriend before bed. You can check my computer if you want?" He offered.

"Thank you!" Jane smiled at him warmly but in her head, alarms were ringing. Her experience said that anyone behind too helpful had something to hide. "We'll do that."

Jason got to his feet, "I'll get it for you."

"Are you ok JayJay?" Mrs DeLuca returned from the bathroom as her grandson was leaving, her face red and swollen from crying but otherwise the picture of composure.  
>"Yep." He smiled at her as she returned to the lounge.<p>

"I apologise for my outburst detectives." Mrs DeLuca apologised softly. "I'm still feeling a little vulnerable."

Jane smiled. It never failed to surprise her how proper the older generation were. Even though her tears and upset had been completely justified, she still felt it necessary to apologise for it. It had been that way with every elderly person Jane had ever encountered in her work.

"Mrs DeLuca, we'll need a description of the car and the license plate number." Jane explained. "So we can look out for it and try and catch the people responsible."

Mrs DeLuca looked up at her, her brow furrowed in confusion. "But detective, the car is on the driveway!"

Maura was beginning her examination of the elderly man on her table before her.

"Severe skin abrasions on the legs." She began, making notes on her clipboard as well as recording her findings on a digital recorder. "Severe contusions to the left coxa and gluteal region."

She marked the file fastidiously, outlining the area with delicate precision.

"Contusions and severe skin abrasions to the left torso, indicative of being dragged, crushed sternum and ribcage, indicating heavy weight on the victim's chest. Complex depressed skull fracture involving the dura mater indicated blunt force trauma to the back of the head."

Maura filled more boxes on her form and reached for her scalpel. "And now for the Y incision."

Jane studied the outside of the SUV on the driveway; the windshield was intact with no sign damage.

"Get tow to take this to an evidence bay!" She barked, making Frost reach for his phone immediately.

'Why hadn't they said this before?' she wondered as she made her way around the vehicle. Nothing seemed wrong with it, no scratches, and no marks. Nothing to indicate it had been involved in an accident.

'Why would they return the car?' Jane couldn't work it out.

"Rizzoli!" Korsak's voice cut into her thoughts. She looked towards where he was standing. "The paramedics are at the station waiting for you." He told her.

"Good. Frost, you ok here?" she called, accepting his half-hearted wave as a confirmation and jumped into her car.

"Shannon Bridges?"

Jane swept into the room like a pocket hurricane and Shannon knew he was in the eye of the storm. The woman in front of him reminded him of the tigers in the circus, they seemed compliant enough but given the chance, they would prove to be lethal. This woman gave off the same energy, stunning to look at but he definitely did not want to get on her bad side.

"Y-yes?"

"Are you Shannon Bridges?" she asked again, taking a seat in front of him.

"Yes, yes ma'am I am." He fumbled with his words.

"I'm Detective Rizzoli; I need to ask you some questions." She smiled warmly at him and he felt himself relax almost immediately.

"Ok. It's about that old guy from last night, right?" He asked, eager to get this over with.

"Yes, can you tell me what happened?"

"Well, we got a call to an old man, it wasn't all that clear, just that he needed help. Dispatch said the woman was hysterical, saying her husband was dying. We thought the old guy had had a heart attack or something."

Jane frowned. Nothing about this case was making much sense.

"When we got there we found him in the road, his head all smashed up on the kerb."

"What time was this?" Jane asked as she reviewed her notes.

"We got the call about 10pm I think, you'd have to double check with dispatch. By the time we got there, and realised what had happened, the guy was barely clinging to life y'know. He was beat up real bad! We worked on him in the bus for a while, and then called ahead and they must've called you guys."

Jane glanced at her watch. 'How did she only hear about this at 6am?'

A knock at the door cut into her worrying and she glanced up.

"Frost?" He stuck his head around the door and nodded a greeting to the paramedic. "SUV came in, thought you'd wanna see."

"Thanks Frost."

"Does that mean I can go now?" Shannon asked quickly but the look from the detective pinned him to his seat.

"I just have a couple more questions." Jane told him. "You said; 'when you realised what had happened'. What did you mean?"

Shannon sighed. "Well it was obvious the guy didn't have a heart attack. His clothes were torn and he looked like he'd been dragged round the block. From his injuries it was obvious he'd been hit by a car, or beaten up pretty bad."

"And there was no one else there, nothing strange?"

Shannon shook his head slowly. "Not that I remember, his wife was crying and his grandkid was there, they looked pretty cut up."

"Ok, thank you Mr Bridges." Jane reached in her pocket and handed him her card. "If you think of anything else, be sure to call me."

Her interview with the second EMT failed to produce anything else but he also confirmed that Jason had been there.  
>Heading downstairs, she hoped that Maura would be able to shed some light onto the case.<p>

"What ya got?" Jane asked as she breezed into the autopsy room.

"Bass isn't eating again." Maura began, "I'm worried about him Jane. I also found some brand new discontinued Jimmy Choo's for only $400. They're nearly impossible to find now." She smiled warmly at her friend.

"Not the turtle Maur, the victim and where did you find Choo's for that price?" Jane was amazed at the fact that Maura seemed to have radar for designer shoe bargains and that she actually knew who Jimmy Choo was.

"The victim died as a result of injuries sustained in a collision with a vehicle, specifically blunt force trauma to his head and a crushed torso. Someone literally ran him over. And he's a tortoise… on eBay!"

Jane frowned. "Why is the tortoise on eBay?"

Maura looked momentarily shocked. "Bass can't use eBay, he lacks the necessary opposable digits and his shell and musculature doesn't allow him to sit in a chair."

Jane giggled. "Are you sure, you never know what he does when you're not there. Maybe he ordered a pizza!" She could almost picture turning up at Maura's with a Chinese and a bottle of wine and finding Bass sitting in front of a baseball game, or cruising for hot female turtles on the net.

"Jane, really it's not funny. You know he needs a strict diet to maintain the balance and health of his shell. He can't eat pizza! And you're being sarcastic again, aren't you?"

Jane laughed. "Sorry Maur, but it was kinda funny." Maura paused, as if she were trying to picture her beloved pet using her computer.

"Well yes, I suppose so."

"So there's nothing weird about this death?"

Maura shook her head. "Nothing at all. He was run over; causing the injuries that pertained to his death."

Jane sighed. "Ok, thanks." She headed for the door and paused. "You might just wanna check your internet history when you get in!" she tipped the ME a wink and disappeared before Maura could question her further. Laughing to herself, she pressed the elevator up button, she was glad she'd ordered pizza online the last time she'd been there.


	4. 4 Got You

Standing in the evidence garage, Jane couldn't fight her gut. It was telling her that something in this case was very, very wrong. The car was immaculate, both inside and out. There was nothing in the tyres and nothing that was out of place inside the car.

"I got something!" One of the forensics technicians crawled out from the car holding a pair of tweezers. Jane rushed to her side, "What is it?" she asked expectantly, hoping for an answer that wouldn't give her some clue.

The staccato beat of heels on asphalt alerted Jane to Maura's arrival and she smiled.

"Fibres." The technician continued as she slid them into an evidence bag. "I'll get them tested now."

Turning towards Maura, Jane smiled. "Wanna come and do that gumshoe thing with me?" she asked, raising one eyebrow suggestively.

"Always." Maura replied, her own smile playing devilishly on her lips as she turned and fell into stride next to her friend.

They pulled up in front of the DeLuca residence and Jane drummed her fingers on the wheel. "Something's not adding up, the kid is lying to me." She explained. "And we're gonna find out why."

They stepped from the car and headed up the driveway. "Oh look, dandelions." Maura exclaimed. "I wonder if Bass would eat those."

"Yeah Maur, let's bring a turtle to a crime scene." Jane oozed sarcasm and Maura turned smartly towards her. "Do you have amnesia?" she asked. "He's a tortoise, and he enjoys dandelions." She pointed towards the weeds growing in a small cluster in the corner of the lawn. "And I would have picked them for him." Her voice trailed off as Jane crossed the lawn and crouched next to the weeds. "Wonder who broke this." She said, reaching into her pocket for a glove before picking up pieces of broken ornament. She strode back to the car, retrieving an evidence bag and collecting all the shards of what she guessed was once a garden gnome.

"Remind me to beat Frost when we get back." She smiled as she returned to Maura's side, sliding a dandelion behind her ear. "And flowers, for the turtle." She grinned mischievously.

"You know, a lot of people wouldn't put up with you. This is why you're still single!" Maura smirked at Jane as she returned the bag to the trunk of the car.

* * *

><p>Korsak sat at his desk, the pile of unopened mail before him was larger than normal and he looked around. He was alone. Collecting the pile up, he dumped it all on Frost's desk. "Mail is for the new boy." He complained as he opened a box of cannoli and helped himself.<p>

As if on cue, Frost came into the room, waving a piece of paper. "The SUV in the hit and run, we got a hit on it!" he told Korsak. "It got a ticket at 10.14 for parking in front of a fire exit."

Korsak screwed up his face. "Patrols were bored!" he mumbled, dropping crumbs from his pastry down his tie as he joined Frost at his desk.

"Yeah." Frost looked up into the crumb storm and sighed heavily. "Korsak!" He brushed crumbs from the shoulder of his shirt. "Better than that, we got CCTV from the parking lot, covers the fire exit." Frost continued, waving an old vhs in the air. "You know these, right Korsak?" Korsak shook his head as he followed Frost to the B.R.I.C.

"Guy from the convenience store said the quality isn't great." Frost continued as he scrolled through the footage.

"He wasn't kidding." Korsak stepped closer to the screen, squinting at the grainy images. "Is this all the tapes he had?"

Frost nodded, "He couldn't afford a decent system, used the same 3 tapes over again."

"Can you clean this up?" Korsak asked as Frost found the place in the tape they needed.

"I'm trying but it's not going to be easy."

"There!" Korsak pointed at the screen "That's the car." He moved even closer to the screen.

Both men looked up at the footage, an SUV pulled into a car park and stopped before a figured rushed from the driver's side and disappeared from view.

"We're not going to be able to use any of this." Korsak sighed heavily.

"I'll try and clean it up some more." Frost told him. It was clear from the tone of his voice that he agreed with Korsak. This footage didn't show anything that could be useful to anyone.

Korsak turned and headed from the room, "Call me if you find anything, I'm going to see if the labs have found anything on those fibres."

"Korsak?" Frost called him back. "It's your turn to do the mail." He smiled sweetly before returning to the task at hand.

Korsak shook his head. He hated the mail but knew that he managed to avoid doing it for most of the year, so one go wouldn't hurt him. He scooped the letters and parcels back to his own desk and started opening them. Nothing of interest so far until a simple blue envelope caught his attention. He felt a shiver run through his very soul. The handwriting was small and precise but almost illegible. 'To Jane' it read, 'c/o Boston Homicide.' He reached into his desk for some gloves before picking up the envelope. He knew there would be nothing of use on the envelope itself but he feared there would be something inside that would need delicate handling.

Using a letter opener, he sliced the top flap open and peered inside. It contained a folded sheet of paper which he pulled out carefully. Unfolding the sheet, a photograph fell into his lap. 'Soon.' The note read. He picked up the picture, careful to hold only the edges. It was an image of Jane at a crime scene.

"Frost!" Korsak yelled, startling a fellow detective and causing him to drop his coffee. "Get in here!"

"What?" He asked, rushing to Korsak's desk.

"Is he out again?" Korsak demanded, sliding the image and note across the desk so Frost could see.

Frost stared at the image and the note. He'd seen glimpses of the power Hoyt had over Jane and to think that he was out of prison was more than he could accept.

"I'll find out." He said, reaching for his cell and punching in the number of the prison.

* * *

><p>Jane and Maura were guided into the DeLuca living space by Jason. He seemed even more on edge than before.<p>

"We just need to ask you a few more questions." Jane told him, Maura smiled sweetly as she sat opposite. 'Great day to wear a low cut dress' she thought as Jason fought to remove his eyes from her cleavage.

"Hey!" Jane snapped at him. "I'm not down there." Jason's eyes shoot up to meet hers and Maura grinned.

"I.. I… I'm sorry." Jason felt his cheeks flush bright red and he hung his head.

"It's a perfectly natural reaction." Maura began, "Men are drawn to women who can…"

"Not now Doctor." Jane raised an eyebrow and Maura fell silent. "What time did you say you got in?" Jane returned her attention to Jason who was picking at a thread on his jeans.

"I didn't go out once I got in from school." Jason told her solemnly. He felt like he was in the principal's office, except that the principal was a rattle snake who'd found its own Jessica Rabbit to distract him.

"I got up, went to school, failed Chem. and then stayed in my room." He explained again. He couldn't meet Jane's steely stare as the tears formed in his eyes. A small sob shook his shoulders and he fought to control it. Jane cleared her throat and he looked up, but only as far as Maura.

"Would you like a tissue?" she asked seeing the tears in his eyes.

Jason nodded before dropping is gaze to the carpet.

Jane waited. She knew he was on the verge of saying something, he just needed the time. She watched as he took the tissue Maura offered him and blew his nose noisily. Still he couldn't meet her gaze.

"Jason?" Maura smiled up at the young man. "Are you ok?"

Jason looked between the two women. The warm hazel eyes of the doctor sat in front of him and the cold penetrating stare of the detective.

"I didn't meant to hurt him." He blurted out suddenly.

Jane's eyes softened and she walked slowly around the back of the sofa he was sitting on to stand between him and the door. If he was going to make a run for it, she would be ready.

"He wasn't even supposed to know I'd gone." Tears choked his voice and he wiped at his face with his sleeve. Jane glanced at Maura; she could almost hear her internal dialogue; 'boogerbacteriosis' or something equally as revolting sounding she'd be thinking.

"What happened?" Maura asked him softly, handing him the remaining tissues from the pack in her purse.

"I snuck out to go to the concert." Jason began. "No one was meant to know; I got the tickets and jumped out my window. I was going to take the car because the concert had already started and I didn't want to miss more than I had." He stopped, tears streaming down his face and Jane suddenly saw him for what he was. A kid. A kid who made a mistake. For a split second she felt badly for him until she realised that he was a kid who had run over his grandfather and left him for dead in the street.

"I didn't notice that Gramps had cut the lawn." Both women frowned at him. "He moves the gnomes when he does." Jason explained. "I tripped on the gnome and it smashed, I swore and tried to get to the car but I could hear them getting up inside. So I rushed to try and get in the car but the key wouldn't go."

'Explains the lack of damage to ignition barrel' Jane thought. All the pieces were falling neatly into place. Except one.

"I saw Gramps coming out the door; he was trying to get the keys. I panicked and threw it into reverse. I didn't know he'd hold on to the car." Jason's voice crumbled and he resigned himself to his grief. "I didn't mean to hurt him." He repeated.

"How'd the car get back on the drive?" Jane asked him, drawing a saddened look from Maura.

Jason wiped his nose with his sleeve again, the tissues in his lap long forgotten. "I dumped the car in a lot a few blocks away and came back to check on Gramps." Jason's voice trembled and shook as he spoke. "When the paramedics left, I asked my friend to move it for me. I thought if it was far away, you'd think someone had stolen it. I didn't know he'd bring it back here. He didn't have anything to do with it, it was all me." Jason got to his feet.

"I killed him. I didn't mean to do but it was my fault." Jason held out his hands, expecting Jane to handcuff him there and then. As he finally tried to meet her gaze, his eyes were drawn to a figure behind the detective.

"Gram?" The word squeaked from his lips as his grandmother stood in the doorway, tears staining her face. Both Jane and Maura turned to see Mrs DeLuca standing in the doorway, her hands full of grocery bags.

"I'm sorry Grammy."

* * *

><p>Frost slammed his cell onto his desk, inadvertently cracking the screen as he did so.<br>"There was a fire three days ago." He snarled. "The entire prison was evacuated. They were short of guards and Hoyt managed to swap himself out for another, low risk prisoner." Korsak's mouth fell open, dropping more cannoli onto his already marked tie. "By the time they realised he wasn't where he was meant to be, they didn't even know where to start looking."

"Why the hell didn't they tell us? Or Jane?" Korsak was on his feet, pacing the room as crumbs rained down around him. "We have to tell Jane." Realisation dawned on the older detective.

As if on cue, Jane breezed into the office, throwing a bulging file onto her desk.  
>"The kid coughed." She smiled, watching Frost and Korsak study her. "What's up with you two?"<p>

* * *

><p>She threw things around, ripping into pillows and wrenching the couch cushions apart. In her rage she smashed a lamp, its pieces falling to the floor and landing haphazardly in the sea of feathers washed across the floor.<p>

Drawers were opened, riffled through and abandoned. It had to be here. She had to find it. At her feet, a scruffy dog barked noisily.

"Fuck off Jo!" she aimed a kick at the animals stomach. Jo Friday took her cue and ran into the bedroom, hiding under the bed.

In the kitchen, she pulled open cupboard doors, yanking one clean off its hinges before discarding it carelessly on the floor. Spices, condiments and jars rained down around her. Her destruction of the kitchen was minimal but necessary. She turned her attention to the hall closet. There it was. A simple box with the words 'For Jane' etched into its lid. She pulled the box from the shelf and lifted the lid, its contents exactly how she had hoped they would be. The leather holster settled within.

She smiled, a warm serenity settling over her. She would be rewarded well for this. Turning back to the devastation she had left in her wake, she shuddered slightly. It was against everything she was to leave such a mess but the promises she had made had made it a requirement. Rushing into the bedroom, she stepped carefully over clothes and cushions as she returned to the dresser. She searched through the drawers and found only practicality. Typical of Jane. Trying the wardrobe again, she saw three small drawers that she'd previously not noticed. Pulling one open she found what she was looking for. Carefully she pulled out each garment in turn, holding each one up and inspecting it carefully. Red or black? Which would she prefer to see Jane in?

She finally found the perfect garment. A simple but sexy black thong, lace trimmed but still leaving something to the imagination. Yes, this would be perfect. She tucked the underwear into her pocket and fled the scene, pulling the front door closed behind her, she was careful to leave only one mark.

A teacup and saucer on Jane's doorstep.


	5. Chapter 5

Jane held her head in her hands. How could this be, Hoyt had escaped again? It was absurd. She could hear Korsak and Frost squabbling about what to do next but they sounded so far away. Staring at the scars on her hands, she shook her head. "I should have shot him." She whispered to the marked flesh on her palms.  
>Frankie appeared in front of her, crouching down so he could look her in the eye.<p>

"I'm taking you home." He told her simply. She didn't have the energy to fight with him but got to her feet and followed him blindly from the room. She knew Korsak and Frost would set up a guard outside her apartment.

"I don't want to go home." She told him, her voice weak. It made her angry that Hoyt held so much power over her. Frost, who was already organising officers to stake out Jane's apartment added new orders to cover Maura's home too.

Frankie looked at her. "You want to go to Maura's?" he asked. His cheeks flushed as he remembered the birthday party their mother had thrown week or so before. He looked at his sister closely, she'd never given him any reason to suspect anything was going on between herself and the doctor, but at the same time, she did spend an awful lot of time there, often overnight. Although, his first thought had been to offer to take her to Maura's; not to his own apartment, or their parents' home, but to Maura's. 'When did I become so well trained?' he wondered.

"Come on Frankie." She pulled him by the sleeve, the contact as comforting as it was necessary to get her brother moving from the room. He'd zoned out on her. Placing his arm around her shoulder, he led her towards the garage.

Maura sat on a stool by the sink wiping coffee from her leather pumps with a small cloth. She loved her shoes dearly, the way they accentuated her calf muscles and slenderised her ankles. They just weren't particularly practical when you dropped ground coffee on your feet. Satisfied she'd cleaned the shoe thoroughly; she hopped into the bathroom and, hitching her dress up, swung her foot into the sink and rinsed it quickly.

"Maura?" She frowned towards the sound of her name being called. "Maura!" Again but more insistently this time.

"Frankie?" she towelled her foot dry quickly and ran into the living room.

"What's happened?" She glanced around the room, looking for a reason for his urgency. He seemed fine on initial inspection. Jane sat on the sofa, a beer in one hand and her head in the other.

"Jane." Her voice softened immediately and she knelt before her, her fingers reaching up to caress the soft skin of her friend's cheek. Guiding her face up, Maura studied the deep brown eyes before her. Jane didn't need to speak, not here. Here she was safe and the things that haunted her had less power. Looking into the hazel eyes of her friend, she knew she was understood.

"He's back, isn't he?" Maura whispered, looking briefly to Frankie who only nodded slowly.  
>Maura reached out and removed the beer bottle from Jane's grasp, replacing it with her own hand, her thumb tracing absent-mindedly over the scars she felt there. "It's going to be ok." Maura told her softly.<br>Jane cocked her head, searching Maura's eyes. "I thought you said you couldn't lie." She stated softly.  
>"I can't." Maura told her. "I promise you, it's going to be ok." Jane smiled, and reached out to her friend, wrapping her in a bear hug. She held her like she was the last thing tethering her to the earth.<p>

Frankie headed towards the door; he couldn't help but feel uncomfortable in the room. He felt like he was intruding on something that wasn't for his eyes and so tried to make his leave quietly. Maura caught his eyes as he reached the door.

"Don't go far?" she whispered. He smiled at her, the concern in her voice, the way she brushed Jane's hair and held her tightly. He was pleased to leave his sister with someone who cared so much about her. There was something else about Maura. A fierce determination in her eyes, a burning penetration that made him nervous. He'd never seen that look before. "I won't." He promised.

* * *

><p>Korsak and Frost stood outside Jane's apartment building studying the area. They'd been called by the patrol cops who had been assigned to guard Jane's apartment. They'd gone upstairs and found a teacup on her doorstep, their briefing had told them that this was beyond what they were willing to be blamed for and had called Korsak immediately.<p>

They made their way to her apartment and found crime scene techs everywhere. White paper suited figures dotted the room, each one engrossed in a task.

"Anything?" Korsak asked as he and Frost stepped into the room. He already knew the answer. They would find nothing, no fingerprints, no shoe prints, no hair or fibres. Hoyt was too smart to leave something so obvious behind.

"Only this." A woman clad in white offered him an evidence bag containing the tea cup and saucer.

Korsak took the bag and sighed. It was definitely Hoyt's calling card. Bone china cup with a delicate pattern, almost identical to the one they'd found at every other crime scene he'd been responsible for. With one exception; this time there was no body.

"What do you think he was looking for?" Frost asked.

Korsak looked around, aside from the total devastation of the apartment, nothing obvious was missing. "I don't know." He admitted. It didn't make sense, the calling card was Hoyt's, of this he had no doubt, but nothing else in the room matched his MO. Hoyt never made a mess, never drew attention to himself and wrecking an apartment seemed very much like a scream for attention.

"Maybe he just wanted to scare Jane?" Frost offered.

"Well he's done that," Korsak reminded him, "and she doesn't know about this yet!"

Frost nodded and reached for his phone. If someone had to tell her, he preferred to be the one to do it.

On the coffee table, Jane's cell phone rang loudly. Maura had run her a hot bubble bath, using the best lavender oils and bubble bath she had. It had taken some convincing but finally she manhandled Jane into the bathroom.

Reaching for the phone, she bit her lip when she saw Frost's name on the screen.

"What is it Frost?" she asked as she answered the phone. She listened intently as he described what had happened at Jane's apartment. "Ok, I'll tell her." She promised. "And Frost… take care of Jo." She hung up the phone and headed towards the bathroom. On the other side of the door, she could hear Jane complaining.

"May I come in?" Maura called through the oak door.

"Yeah."

Maura pushed open the door and found Jane, wrapped in a towel and sitting on the closed toilet, her knees pulled up to her chest.

"Why aren't you in the bath?" Maura asked, dipping her hand into the bath water to double check the temperature. "The lavender will help to relax you. It's said to reduce anxiety, stress and even mild depression."

Jane looked at her curiously. "What, no study to prove it?" Immediately she felt bad for snapping at Maura; she was only trying to help.

Maura chose to ignore her and answered the question instead. "A University of Maryland study has shown that it _does_ reduce anxiety and stress. So get in the bath, before it gets cold." Maura turned her hands on her hips.

From her seat, Jane pouted. "I don't want to!" she complained, sounding like a whiny child who had been sent to bed early. "It's all slimy."

Maura raised an eyebrow, her gaze fixing the stubborn detective in place. "We can do this the easy way…."

"Or the hard way. I know!" Jane pouted and got up. "Why do you always have to do that?"

Maura beamed.

"Well get out then." Jane shooed her friend away, "I don't need babysitting."

Maura turned her back but remained in the room. "I need to talk to you." She paused, listening for the tell-tale splashes that Jane was safely ensconced in the tub. Jane settled herself in the hot water and inhaled deeply. It wasn't that bad really, 'smells like Grandma' she thought as the bubbles danced over the surface of the water, coming to rest under her chin like an aquatic blanket. "It's about Hoyt…" Maura continued.

"I don't wanna hear it." Jane told her firmly and ducked her head under the water.

Maura sighed and reached for the shampoo. "You can't stay under there all night." She called, tapping Jane on the head. Jane resurfaced and wiped the soapy water from her eyes. "Now settle back." She ordered, smiling as Jane reluctantly gave in and laid back in the bath.

Squirting shampoo into her hands, Maura began rubbing it through Jane's long hair. "I'm not five!" Jane complained.  
>"Will you stop fidgeting? I'm giving you a scalp massage." Maura explained as she began massaging.<p>

Five minutes in, Jane sighed happily. Maybe Maura was onto something with her slimy bath stuffs and head rubbing. She certainly felt a lot more relaxed than when she'd gotten in.  
>"Your apartment has been ransacked." Maura blurted out suddenly. "They don't think anything has been taken."<p>

Jane tried to sit up quickly, the oils in the bath causing her to slip and flail wildly, inadvertently ducking herself under the surface in the process. "Hoyt was there?" she asked between coughs.

Maura shrugged. "They don't know yet but they believe he is responsible."

Jane melted back into the water as silence fell over the room once again. "You're safe here." Maura reminded her softly, nonchalantly running her fingers through Jane's hair as she spoke.

"That's the thing Maur." Jane sighed heavily. "I don't think I am."

Maura watched as Jane slept, her chest rising and falling in a steady rhythm. It had taken her longer to drift off than even Maura had thought it might and her sleep had been punctuated with nightmares; violent thrashing from Jane had woken the doctor and now she found herself unable to find slumber again. She sat, cross legged on the bed, Jane's service revolver laid carefully in front of her. She was thankful that Jane had relented and taken her to the gun range and taught her how to shoot properly. Now she could protect her friend, and hopefully not kill herself in the process.

Next to her, Jane began tossing and turning again. "No…. don't…" even in sleep, she sounded scared.  
>Reaching out, Maura rubbed her arm carefully, "Shh, Jane, it's…."<p>

Jane sat bolt upright, her hand locking around Maura's wrist as she spun around, pinning Maura to the bed, her breath sharp and ragged as she focused on the form below her.  
>Maura found her own breath coming to her in shallow gasps as she looked up into the deep eyes of the brunette now astride her. She could feel Jane's breath, warm and minty on her cheek and she swallowed noisily before licking her lips.<p>

"Jane?" Maura whispered, her voice shook and she felt her cheeks burning.

Jane frowned; her brain was still clouded from sleep and dreams and her voice warm and velvety. "Maura?" Looking down at her friend, she felt a pull in her chest. Maura looked up at her, her eyes mixed with caution, concern and something else…. Her pupils dilated as Jane spoke her name, was it arousal?

"Are you ok?" Maura squeaked, wriggling to try and get out from under the detective. Jane could see her pulse pounding through the jugular vein in her neck.

"Oh. Maura," Jane released her grip on her wrist and rolled herself back to her side of the bed. "I'm sorry, I…." Still she couldn't drop her friends gaze. Her own heart rate increasing as watched Maura rearrange her pajama top and straighten herself out. Maura smiled at her and Jane noticed her lip trembling, anyone else would have missed it but it was there.  
>"It's ok. I understand." Maura told her softly, her voice shaking ever so slightly. "You should try and go back to sleep." She reached out her hand and brushed Jane's forearm softly. Jane stared down at the doctor's fingers as they ran across her skin. She felt herself shiver despite the warmth in the room.<p>

Loud bangs ripped through the room suddenly and Jane rolled herself completely off the bed, reaching for her gun that she'd laid on the nightstand next to her. It was gone. Maura also jumped but settled faster than Jane, who was ripping the drawer from the stand in a search for her weapon.

"Jane!" Maura exclaimed, reaching to pull her friend to her feet. Jane batted her hand away and continued her search. Getting to her feet, Maura found Jane's gun on the floor next to the bed, Jane must have knocked it off when she'd awoken in her panic. Seeing Maura with the weapon, Jane threw herself across the bed, pulling the firearm from her grasp and with shaking hands, making her way towards the bedroom door.

"Jane!"

Jane pulled the door open, her weapon guiding her into the hallway. Clear. She continued with Maura behind her, calling her name. "Shhh!"

"It's just Bass." Maura told her.

Jane stopped in her tracks, turning to her friend with an incredulous look stretched tightly over her otherwise flawless face. "Your turtle fires a gun?"

Three more loud bangs crashed through the house causing Jane to spin on the balls of her bare feet and head towards the sound.  
>"He's not armed Jane!" Maura reached out to touch her shoulder and stopped herself. Jane was wound so tightly now, Maura wasn't sure she wouldn't turn and shoot on instinct. "He's displaying classic mating behaviour. And he's a tortoise!"<p>

Jane followed the sound, her nerves tingling with each step. She was aware of Maura behind her but her words couldn't penetrate the panic and fear in her mind. Swinging herself, weapon first into the kitchen, Jane flinched as Maura flicked on the light. "Maura!" she growled, her complaint lost in yet more bangs.

On the floor at her feet, Bass was facing the metal work stand, ramming his own reflection repeatedly.  
>She relaxed her weapon and couldn't help a weak smile as she felt the heat of Maura's body close in behind her. "Jane?" Maura's breath on her neck sent a shiver through her body and she leant back into the safety of her friends embrace.<br>"It's mating behaviour." Maura repeated as she took Jane's shaking hand within her own. "Now, come back to bed."


	6. Lockdown

"We got another one!" Frost announced as he walked into the office. Korsak looked up from his files and waited for the younger detective to continue. Instead, he dropped an envelope on the top of the pile of files.

"Hoyt?" Korsak asked as he lifted the simple blue envelope and peered inside. He didn't need an answer. He knew that Hoyt was playing with them. Pulling the pictures out, he studied them one by one. An image of Jane in the grocery store, Jane at the DeLuca crime scene.

"Woah!" Korsak pushed back from his desk, dropping the last photograph and watching as it fluttered to the floor. "Did you look at these?" he looked up at Frost who wore a similar expression of concern and amazement and only nodded.

"But what do we tell Jane?" Frost asked as both men focused their attention on the image. Jane in her apartment at her birthday, her hair casually tossed over her shoulder and a beer in her hand. She didn't seem to have a care in the world; safe in her own home she looked as relaxed as Korsak had seen her in a long while. Had it not come from Hoyt, he would have said it was a great picture.

"I think we need to talk to Cavanaugh!" Korsak sighed. He didn't want to go to him with this, but Jane was in serious trouble and Hoyt had already managed to kidnap Jane while she was surrounded by uniforms. For the first time in his career, he doubted his ability to keep his friend and colleague safe.

"Jane's not going to like that." Frost stated simply.

Thrusting the last image into his face, Korsak exploded with rage. "She's not going to like that Hoyt's apprentice was in her apartment!" Frost back-stepped quickly, he hadn't expected such a violent reaction from the older detective. "She's sure as hell not going to like that we have no damn clue where Hoyt is or who the apprentice is!"

Korsak melted into his chair and sighed. "I'm sorry Frost." He threw the photograph onto the desk and wiped his brow with a handkerchief.

Frost nodded slowly. He knew that Jane and Korsak had a complicated past with Hoyt. "So we go to Cavanaugh." He said softly.

Knocking loudly on the door, Korsak shook his head. He didn't want to be here and he certainly didn't want to have the conversation he knew he was about to have.

"Come." Cavanaugh barked from the other side. Pushing open the simple wooden door, Korsak stepped in and, with a brief look down the hall to check it was clear, her closed it behind him.

"We got a problem."

Cavanaugh looked at him, his already wrinkled brow furrowing further. "With?"

Korsak offered him the photos. "The surgeon is back." He said simply.

Cavanaugh took the images, flicking through each one quickly. "This?" He proffered the final image to Korsak. "Surgeon's too?" Korsak nodded slowly.

"He's got another apprentice. Obviously it's someone on the inside." Cavanaugh scoffed.

"Any leads?"

Hanging his head, Korsak kicked himself mentally. "No."

"Where's Jane, does she know?"

"She's staying with Dr Isles." Korsak began, "She doesn't know about these images, no."

Cavanaugh settled back behind his desk, tapping the photograph on the large ink blotter thoughtfully.

"Last time was an absolutely fuck up." Cavanaugh said to no one in particular as he contemplated what to do. "Jane needs to be on lock down. No one gets close to her." He looked up at Korsak with a steely gaze. "And I mean no one! I don't want her at the station until we find the apprentice. Get a guard on the doctor's house too."

"There are patrols at all the entrances…" Korsak interrupted before being cut off.

"Double them!" Cavanaugh snapped. "And Korsak, don't let him get to her again."

Korsak nodded and turned to leave. "What do I tell Jane?" he asked. His entire trip to this office had been for the answer to that one question.

"That's your problem detective." Cavanaugh told him.

* * *

><p>Jane sat up sharply. It was a dream, nothing more. She rubbed her eyes before looking around. Rubbing her eyes sleepily, it took her a few moments to realise where she was.<br>Maura's bedroom reminded her of a luxury suite in a fancy hotel and she was always surprised when there was no chocolate on the pillow.  
>She could hear music floating in from another room and the warm, earthy smell of coffee tickled her senses. She was hungry. Throwing on a pair of Maura's shorts, she padded quietly into the hallway. She remembered the previous evening, her fear controlling her and making a fool of herself over the turtle. As she reached the kitchen, she paused. Maura was sat on a stool at the breakfast island, her warm, honey hair falling onto her face as she wrote furiously. Jane stopped and smiled, taking a small step back to appreciate the serenity and calm that surrounded Maura whenever she was engrossed in a task. Everything around her could be going to hell in a hand basket and yet Maura would be in the eye of the storm, not a hair out of place and immaculately dressed.<p>

Tucking a lock of hair back behind her ear, Maura failed to notice her voyeuristic friend and continued writing. Whatever it was, Jane thought, it had to be important. Maura paused again, her fingers trailing across her lips as she searched for the right word or sentence, Jane noticed her breath came in shallow gasps as a mischievous smile danced over her face before she dipped her head and continued to work on the text before her.  
>Jane was lucky, she realised that now. With the chaos and danger that permeated her every waking moment, having someone that stayed at your side, regardless of their own personal safety was a rare thing to be treasured.<p>

"Morning."

Stepping into the room, her greeting snapped Maura from her task and she slammed the large journal closed, folding her hands over its cover before looking up with beet red cheeks. Jane crossed behind her friend to fetch a mug for her coffee, her hand grazing Maura's shoulders as she passed.

"I let you sleep in." Maura sounded nervous, the tremble in her voice only served to remind Jane of the previous evening and her own trepidation returned.

"Look, about last night…." Jane began, avoiding looking towards where she knew Maura had stiffened in her seat and turned to regard the detective. "I'm sorry." She took a large gulp of her coffee, a deep, cleansing breath and turned, forcing herself to meet the warm hazel eyes that were scrutinising her.

Maura's expression instantly softened when she saw the uncertainly in Jane's face. She shook her head. "It's fine, Jane." She rose to her feet, side stepping Jane delicately. "Would you like some breakfast?" she busied herself with pancake mix, avoiding the penetrating stare she could feel aimed at her.

"Maura?" Reaching out, she let her fingers brush Maura's hair before coming to rest on her shoulder. "Are you ok?"

Maura jumped at the touch and turned. "Yes, sorry." She forced herself to meet Jane's insistent gaze and smiled. "I was elsewhere, figuratively speaking." She forced a smile onto her lips and Jane returned her own weaker version.

Realising she wasn't going to get an immediate answer, Jane nodded slowly. "I'd love some pancakes." She said, occupying the seat that Maura had just recently evicted.

"Here, let me move those things." Maura almost ran to Jane, sweeping the journal and pen from in front of Jane and tucking them into an antique side table in the living area. "Now, how many pancakes would you like?"

Jane frowned. Something was off, Maura had a secret and Jane wanted to know what it was.

* * *

><p>Charles Hoyt grinned. The gift box before him was exactly what he thought the good doctor would have purchased. Elegant yet understated. A lot like Jane. "Well…" he asked. His patience was wearing thin. He wanted an answer to his question and yet still none came.<p>

"I… I… well I don't know." Robin tripped over the sentence. She knew Hoyt wouldn't be pleased.  
>Hoyt looked up from the box and tilted his head, regarding the slim woman before him with lethal curiosity. She was a necessity to him, his biggest challenge yet. She was the apprentice that would bring him everything he needed and so far, she hadn't disappointed him. He'd chosen her carefully, her career choice made her almost invisible but, at the same time, essential, a worker ant that was at the midst of the action and rarely seen. She was born to blend in.<p>

"Find out." He whispered as he lifted the panties she'd stolen for him and examined them carefully before burying his face in the crotch and inhaling deeply.

Robin took her leave and ran from the room, the sound of Hoyt's fury echoing around the small apartment as he realised she'd just failed him in the most intimate way.

* * *

><p>"What?" Jane was pacing the living room. "I mean seriously?"<p>

"It's for your own protection Jane." Maura explained, watching the tall brunette as she paced.

"Dammit Maura!" Jane slumped into the chair and put her feet on the coffee table. "What am I going to do on lockdown?" Her accusatory tone infuriating Maura and forcing her to her feet.

"Well I'm stuck here too Jane!" she snapped as she marched into the kitchen. "And he only wants to kill you." She slammed a coffee mug onto the counter, shattering it in her anger. "Shoot!"

Jane was on her feet in an instant and at Maura's side almost as soon. "Maura?" She whispered, taking Maura's hand and studying the cut that stained her perfect skin. She met the warm hazel eyes of her friend and studied them for the flicker of forgiveness and humour that always danced there for her.  
>Maura held her gaze, lost for the briefest of moments in the rich brown eyes that always seemed to look into her rather than at her. She couldn't stay mad at Jane for long; in fact, she was finding it increasingly difficult to even get mad at her to start with. She couldn't help but smile.<p>

"Jane." She almost choked on the word, her throat dry and raspy. She recognised what was happening to her, the chemicals and signals. She had to control herself. It was Jane after all. This was a crush, born of the closeness of their friendship and her lack of any romantic liaisons in recent months; nothing more could or would come from it. She knew that and yet, sometimes, moments like these when Jane held her hands and seemed to stare into her soul, she doubted that she was the only one who felt that way.

"I'm bleeding." She shook the thought from her mind and watched as Jane went to the first aid box in the far cupboard, covering the distance in two large and determined strides. Maura studied her, the way she moved, the passion that provided momentum whenever something mattered to her. Maura allowed Jane to take care of her injury; she knew this was Jane's way of apologising for her outburst.  
>Silence filled the kitchen, its presence deafening the doctor as Jane's long fingers washed and dressed her wound. Hands that were more used to catching bad guys brushed gently over her skin sending electric shocks through her.<p>

Pulling away slowly, Maura smiled. "Thank you." She whispered, she didn't trust her voice and she knew that Jane would always catch a tremble there. Lifting the bandaged hand to her lips, Jane grinned impishly and kissed the bandage. "There ya go, all better." She said, dropping Maura's hand and laughing warmly at the dark red hue that filled her cheeks.

"I'm going to meditate!" Maura announced suddenly, turning and leaving Jane in the kitchen alone before she had a chance to register the words. Watching her friend leave, Jane sighed and set about sweeping up the broken pieces of mug.

An hour later and Jane was bored. Daytime television left a lot to be desired and her phone calls to both Frost and Korsak yielded little fruit, serving only to scare her more than comfort. Her mind wandered back to Maura and whatever she had been writing when Jane had come into the room. She had been awfully jumpy and the way she looked at Jane. No, she was imagining it. Or was she? There was a definite hint of arousal in her expression, the tremble in her voice, both last night and this morning.  
>Slowly she made her way to the bedroom, pushing the door open slowly. Maura was curled up on the bed, spooning with a pillow. From the even breaths she was taking, Jane knew she was asleep. She smiled and fought the urge to reach out and touch the sleeping doctor.<p>

Turning her back to the room, Jane jogged into the living area and stood before the antique side table, staring at the drawer.

"No!" she told herself, perching delicately on the arm of a chair. "It's not right." She paced around the sofa before returning, drawn to the drawer where Maura had placed her writing journal. She knew the doctor kept a diary and she knew where she kept it, in the back of her underwear drawer. "It's not like I'm reading that." She whispered into the room. "This is probably just a medical study or something." She knew she was trying hard to justify what she knew she was about to do. Pulling the drawer open, she felt a pang of guilt as she lifted the journal from its place. "I'll just look at the first page." She said to no one.

Opening the large journal, the first page read like a book dedication.

_For Jane_

Maura's eloquent hand had crafted the words on the first page of the book and Jane grinned. It wasn't wrong to read something that was for you. Turning the page slowly, she sat on the edge of the armchair, glancing down the hallway for any sign of Maura before returning her attention to the half page Maura had written before she'd interrupted her.

_I have this hunger, an ever growing need that only you can satisfy. My entire body is starving, malnourished and in need. Its food, its one all saving, complete craving is you. _

_My skin yearns to feel your touch, every inch needs to feel your fingertips, the whispering graze, so full of promise that, as yet is denied to me. In your absence, the wind carries your voice, barely heard but containing everything I need to know. I hear your words promising me the world, telling me how you will feed my body's hunger and how you yearn to feel me under your fingers. My skin jumps with excitement, knowing what is to come, the delights that lay in store as your soft fingers brush gently across my neck, sending shivers of icy excitement through me. _

_I long to feel you tease me, for your perfect fingers to barely brush my nipples and feed my desire for you. I see your face in my dreams, your eyes full of mischief as you run your hands over me, your fingers, having painfully teased my nipples and controlled their ever increasing hardness, slip so gently over my stomach, hinting at where you know I want you but ignoring my wetness, preferring instead to continue this delightful torture. My body sings, its song played only for you in notes only you can understand. I can feel your nails grazing my inner thigh as you lick your lips hungrily. I can see in your eyes how much you want this torture to end, to bury your lips and tongue in my hot, wet core. You don't and it kills me._

Jane gulped loudly, her body reacting involuntarily to the words on the page. She could feel the flush in her face and the familiar ache between her legs. Closing the journal, she returned it to the drawer and sat heavily on the sofa, her hand coming to rest between her legs. Looking back over her shoulder, her left hand slid into her shorts, the wetness she found there came as no surprise.

"Oh Maura."


	7. Never Never Land

**Credit for the thoughts in this chapter goes to people who submitted on Rizzoli & Isles head canon.  
>The literature referenced is J.M Barrie's Peter Pan. I own nothing except fluffy socks, a mad dog, insane cats and M&amp;Ms, so there's no point in suing me. I am playing with the characters for my own enjoyment. <strong>

* * *

><p>When Maura finally awoke it was to the sound of rain hammering on her window. Stretching and yawning loudly, she snuggled in closer to the pillow and sighed. This was the worst part about her current situation, Jane would so often spend the night and she always awoke surrounded by the smell of her shampoo, her perfume, her Jane. To have her so close and not be able to touch her, to hold her in her arms as she slept, it was a mixed blessing. She knew that to have Jane in her life at all was a true blessing. Growing up as the socially awkward child she had been, she hadn't had any friends, not real ones. The people that she found around her were always after something, a copy of her notes, a slice of her inheritance, or something more physical. None of them had ever wanted her for who she was. Stripped of intelligence, money, stature or her other fine attributes, Maura knew they wouldn't have looked at her twice.<br>Jane asked her for nothing and in return, Maura had found herself giving the detective everything. But to have her so close and not be able to tell her of the thoughts and feelings she had, was almost too painful to handle.

As a child she had been lonely, locking herself away in the huge library at boarding school for hours on end, reading the classics by Austen and Shakespeare and, when she felt particularly lonely, more childish pleasures like The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe'or her personal favourite, 'Peter Pan'.  
>She sat up in bed and reached for her nightstand without looking. Taped to the top of the drawer's compartment, she pulled the worn and well-read copy and fingered the pages with love before settling it in her lap and wiping her eyes.<p>

"All children, except one, grow up. They soon know that they will grow up, and the way Wendy knew was this. One day when she was two years old she was playing in a garden, and she plucked another flower and ran with it to her mother." She spoke softly, her voice shaking with the unshed tears of a childhood devoid of love and friendship. She didn't need to open the binding; she knew this story as well as she knew herself. "I suppose she must have looked rather delightful, for Mrs Darling put her hand to her heart and cried, 'Oh, why can't you remain like this for ever!'" Tears fell unashamedly down her cheeks, marking her otherwise pristine dress.

Maura Isles hadn't wanted to grow up. From the age of five, she'd left her bedroom window open, hoping against hope that Peter would fly down and whisk her away to Never Never land. She knew that there, she would belong and the loneliness and isolation she felt would be no more. She was after all, a Lost Boy.

"This was all that passed between them on the subject, but henceforth Wendy knew that she must grow up. You always know after you are two. Two is the beginning of the end." She sighed heavily, wiping her eyes on a tissue before dropping it in the trashcan and tucking the book back into its secret place. Confident her childish secret was well hidden, even from Jane; she crossed into the en-suite bathroom and washed her face quickly, cleaning away the evidence of her sorrow before heading into the living space to check on Jane.

Walking into the open plan living area, Maura stopped and took one final deep breath before forcing a smile on her face and stepping into view.

Nothing.

"Jane?" Every fibre of her being tingled, the house was silent. Jane wasn't known for her discretion or her silence. She went everywhere like a pocket hurricane. It was one of the things Maura loved the most about her, her ability to fill and room and yet to not overshadow or squash anyone else in it. Heads would turn when she swaggered in and, depending on her mood; people would part to let her through or close in around her, desperate to stand in her warmth and good humour. But now, there was nothing. No baseball or football game playing on the television. No music blaring as Jane danced around the kitchen, singing along loudly and out of tune as she so often did when she thought that she was alone. Nothing. Just the sound of her own heartbeat pounding in her ears.

"Jane!" she called again, striding into the middle of the room, her gait displaying a confidence that drained from her with every step.  
>As she reached the end of the couch, Maura grinned. Long limbs spread haphazardly over the sofa, a leg fallen from the cushions and resting on the floor and a tangle of chocolate brown hair cascading over the cushions. Jane was very clearly asleep. A gentle snore emanating from her, the only sign of life.<p>

"Jane?" Maura whispered again. She didn't want to wake her friend, despite her somewhat precarious position on the sofa, she looked peaceful. When Jane didn't respond, Maura returned to her antique side table and pulled the drawer open carefully before reaching in for her 'Jane book' as she thought of it and pen. Sitting on the chair, she watched Jane for any sign of movement, the tell-tale signs she would soon wake. There was nothing, only the rhythmic breathing that came with a deep sleep.

She opened the journal and ran her fingers over the first half of the entry she'd begun earlier in the day. This was the book that Jane would never see, the desires she could never share for fear of yet another rejection. This was the place where she could tell Jane her most carnal desires and have Jane reciprocate them. The place where she didn't have to be the well-read, educated Doctor Isles. It was where she could just be Maura. A woman, with needs, desires and fears.  
>This was her Never Never Land.<p>

She read the first paragraphs again, before taking a deep breath and continuing;

_I want you, pressing up towards you, hoping I can tempt you into fucking me but with my sweet wetness only inches from your lips, you sit back, the look of disappointed desire that dances in your eyes only fuels my hunger to feel you inside me and yet I know I must wait. _

_Slowly you watch as my body twitches and screams, your eyes like bolts of electricity as you hungrily eye the feast before you, a feast that is solely yours. _

_As you creep in, your own wetness clear as you move, your lips now follow the well-known trail. I ache to press up into you, to ease this burning between my thighs and yet, I know somehow that my eagerness, rather than satisfying my hunger for you will only prolong my agony. _

_As you gently nibble and tease my neck, I feel your breasts; nipples hard and full of their own unquenched thirst caress my skin. _

_My clit screams for you, my wetness begging for you to taste and fill me. Instead, I lay as still as I'm able, ignoring my increasing urgency to grab you, feast upon your exquisite taste and feel your body hum for me._

_Your lips follow that carefully crafted path, forged so delicately only moments before. A soft moan escapes my lips as you take my nipples, one at a time, so gently in your mouth, teasing them with a flick of your hot tongue before moving on quickly, leaving me wanting more. _

_I cannot help myself as your kisses fall ever closer to my now dripping pussy, my clit jumps and twitches as you kiss along my thigh, teasing me with a gentle kiss on my wet lips. You look up at me with devilish hunger in your eyes and in the warm candlelight; I see my wetness only briefly, glistening on your lips. Your tongue licks it away slowly, daring me to ask for more._

_Suddenly I feel you, a solitary finger brushing through my hot, slick folds, so tantalisingly close to my aching clit and yet still so very far away. You bring your finger slowly to your lips, prolonging my fulfilment until I can't take anymore. As you taste my juices, I beg you to fill me, to fuck me hard, make me cum as you bury your tongue in my pussy._

"Eugh!" Jane mumbled from under her unruly hair as she tried to organise her lanky limbs.  
>Maura looked up, closing the journal and sliding it under her chair before watching her friend with a confused amusement.<p>

"Are you ok?" she asked softly.

"Maura!" Jane sounded surprised as she slid off the couch, landing on the floor in a messy heap of limbs, hair and cushions.

Maura looked around slowly. "Yes?"

Jane sat up and stared at her slowly. "You're…. well, I mean… it's you."

Maura frowned. "Who else would it be?" the enquiry coming from a genuine desire to find out whom the brunette was anticipating.

Jane rubbed her eyes before brushing her hair out of her face, her eyes never leaving the well-presented doctor. Jane's mind ran with the images that had filled her dreams. That journal had given her more in three short paragraphs than she had felt in many, many months.

Resting her back on the couch cushions, Jane studied Maura, looking for any outward sign of the desires she had written about in the journal, any flicker of want or desire. She saw nothing there but confusion and the warm love and concern that radiated from Maura on a regular basis.  
>'And you say you can't lie' she thought, a smile creeping onto her face and calming her friends ever increasing worry.<p>

"Are you sure you're alright?" Maura asked, watching as Jane pulled herself onto the sofa and continued to stare her at with goofy grin lighting up her face.

Jane nodded. "Yeah. I think I'm just fine." And in that moment lost in loving hazel eyes, Jane Rizzoli meant every letter of every word. Nothing could touch her, not Hoyt or any of the other crazed killers in Boston, not her mother, brothers or family dramas. In that moment she was totally at peace with herself and the world.

But the world had other plans for both Jane Rizzoli and Maura Isles.


	8. The 'Good' Doctor

Maura watched as Jane paced in the kitchen. She had intended to make them both a coffee but decided 'just to check in' with Korsak and Frost. Now she was furious and terrified in a way Maura had never seen.

"Why the hell didn't you tell me Korsak?" she bellowed into the small appliance. "You were my partner! How could you not tell me?" Whatever Korsak said in response sent Jane spinning into a spiral of fury, her cheeks burning as the fire in her grew.

"Fine!" her voice had dropped to a dangerous growl and Maura knew this was a bad sign. Screaming Jane was easier to live with, her anger usually died out and she'd be her usual, sarcastic charming self. But when Jane seemed calm on the outside, she was lethal. Maura had learnt that the hard way. She'd also noticed the warning signs. The burn in her cheeks and the way her ears turned bright red, the latter harder to see but Maura knew.

"I'll do it myself then!" As she pulled the phone from her ear, Maura could hear Korsak begging her not to do anything silly before Jane slammed the phone closed.

"You stay here!" Jane snapped as she stomped into her shoes and threw a jacket around her shoulders, disappearing briefly to retrieve her weapon. "I'll be right back!"

"But Jane." Jane spun and fixed Maura in place with a steely, frozen glare. "Please, don't go alone." Maura whispered.  
>It was pointless to tell Jane not to go at all as she most certainly would do whatever she was forbidden to.<p>

"Someone has to sort out this case and those two…" she waved her hand in the air wildly indicating, Maura guessed, at Korsak and Frost "Need to grow a pair!" Yanking the front door open, she offered a weak but genuine smile. "I promise you I'll come back to you."

Maura frowned as she watched Jane leave. 'That was an odd thing to say' she thought as she reached for her own cell phone and dialled Frankie's number. If Jane was heading out on a suicide mission, Maura wanted someone there to protect her.

Frankie had been sitting in his patrol car eating Kung Po chicken when the unmistakable form of his sister burst from the house and strode purposefully over to him. She pulled open the door and stuck her head inside. "Move."

It wasn't a request and Frankie knew better than to try and argue, instead, he clambered into the passenger seat and fastened his seat belt. Glancing down at his ringing cell phone, he saw Maura's name on the screen. Flipping it open, he pressed the device to his ear, the doctor speaking almost immediately. "Yeah, I noticed that." He told her before smiling and hanging up the phone.

"Where are we going?" he asked as Jane threw the car into gear and sped away, flicking on both the lights and sirens as she cursed at the traffic. Her only response was a death glare.

As she skidded the car to a halt in front of her apartment building, Jane turned and fixed Frankie in his seat with the look she saved for the most dangerous of suspects; the look that proved she meant business.

"Did you know?"

"Know what Jane, what's happened?"

"It's someone in the department Frankie." She said, searching his face for any signs he already knew. The surprise that flicked in his eyes told her everything.

"And since Korsak is spending all his time on those god damned kitten videos, I'm gonna work out who!" She swung open the door and reached for the gun on her hip. The cold metal calmed her and she unclipped the holster as she climbed the stairs and swung the door open.  
>The hallway was clear as Jane cautiously approached her door; she knew that Frankie would be behind her, covering her back. Unlocking the door, she wondered momentarily how it was that, during the break in, the lock and door hadn't been damaged. 'Someone must have had a key.' She thought. There had been a preservation order placed on her neighbourhood over a decade ago that had banned any modern modifications, and that included fire escapes. There was one way in, and one way out.<p>

Taking a deep breath, she pushed open the door. Her life's possessions were still scattered across the floor, everything she owned pulled out of place and left lying around like rubbish. She went through the apartment the way they taught her in training, slowly, methodically, not leaving any nook or crevice unchecked. When she was finally certain that the place was empty, she took a moment to look around.

"Damn" she sighed sadly. There really was nothing that had been left untouched, even the jars of lentils that she had but never used were spilt across the floor.

"They really did a number on me." She looked to Frankie who stood amidst the chaos.

"I mean really!" She held up the empty coffee jar to show him. "Why would you tip my coffee all over the floor?" Frankie shrugged. "What would I hide in my coffee?" Jane threw the empty container onto the counter and began searching through the kitchen. All her important paperwork was still there, her passport, birth certificate and medical details.

A sound in the hall snapped both Rizzoli's attentions towards the door, their guns drawn in perfect synchronicity as they manoeuvred themselves for the perfect shot should the need arise. Frankie edged slowly to the door, watching as Jane steadied herself and took aim.

With one hand on the door, Frankie counted out with his fingers.

1.

Jane felt her heartbeat increase, the blood pounding through her system and thundering in her ears.

2.

Frankie's hand started to turn the doorknob and she slid her finger onto the trigger.

3.

Yanking the door open, it took her no more than three seconds to process the people in front of her. Both Korsak and Frost were stood there, their own weapons drawn in a mirror image.

"Dammit Korsak!" she snapped, holstering her weapon and turning back to her task.

Frost entered the room first. "Jane." He said softly, he knew she was a loaded gun, angry at having been kept out of the loop in the investigation. But Cavanaugh had insisted, their hands were, figuratively, tied.

"What are you doing here?" he asked her softly as she moved to the bedroom.

"I live here Frost!" Jane retorted quickly. "I could ask you the same thing." She looked at him, her expression indicating that in fact, she was asking him that exact thing.

"We came to make sure you were safe." He replied, dropping her gaze when her face turned a thunderous shade of red.

"Really?"

Storming into the bedroom, Jane was quick to check her belongings, anything that was important to her was more or less where she'd left it. Nothing of any importance was missing.

"We went to Doctor Isles' first…" Frost was still explaining himself as she searched.

'Maura.' Jane thought. The only thing she hadn't checked was from Maura.

Pushing past Frost, she opened the hall closet and stepped inside, reaching up into the shelf for the box Maura had given her for her birthday. When she couldn't reach it, she tried tip toeing, hoping it had somehow been pushed to the back of the shelf. When she still couldn't see anything, she jumped up and down in place. It was gone.

"That's what he took?" Jane sat in the middle of the hall floor. "It doesn't make any sense."

Frost was at her side immediately, with Frankie and Korsak studying her from the living room. "What's missing Jane?" Frost asked softly, he reached out to touch her shoulder and pulled his hand back before he made contact.

"A holster." Jane's mind ran with questions. 'Why take a holster, it didn't' have a gun in it?' "Maura got me a new holster for my birthday." She told him. "That's what Hoyt has taken.

The detectives frowned. It made even less sense to them than it did to Jane.

The shrill ring of Korsak's phone broke the silence and he answered roughly.

"Korsak." He listened patiently, his eyes flicking to Jane as he did so. "Ok, we'll be right there." He turned his attention to Frost. "We need to go. Now!" Everyone stared at him, waiting for an explanation.

"Frankie, take Jane to your place." He barked as he headed from the room. "And don't let anyone near her. And I do mean _anyone_! Unless they're currently in this room, they don't get close. You understand?"

Frankie backed away slowly; the tone and posture of the older detective send an icy shiver through the young cop. Something big was happening and it had scared him.

Frost trailed after Korsak and jumped in the car as he was pulling away.

"Damn Korsak, what the hell is going on?"

Korsak drove determinedly, he couldn't believe what he had heard but he had no choice but to check it out.

"Korsak!" Frost almost shouted.

"That hair we found on the cup?" he said slowly. "The one left at Jane's apartment that we had checked?" Frost nodded. They'd sent the cup to the lab even though they were certain nothing would be found. It was the shock of their lives when the lab called to say they'd found a very small hair on the bottom. "Well the results came back on it." Korsak continued, shaking his head in disbelief.

"And, who does it belong to?" Frost felt himself shift to the edge of his seat as Korsak rolled to a stop at a red light. Turning to face his younger colleague, he shook his head once more.

"Doctor Maura Isles."

Sitting at his desk, Frost shook his head. He couldn't believe the M.E could be involved. He'd argued that she was often at Jane's apartment and a hair could easily have gotten onto the cup without her ever having been there. Korsak agreed but knew he had to cover his ass. The truth was, he couldn't believe it either but he knew as well as Frost did that it was possible. The photographs they'd been sent were personal, they were of Jane up close, relaxed. A stranger would have never been able to get so close to Jane.

Alarm bells rang suddenly in his head and he got up from his chair and strode towards the large bank of monitors on the wall. Searching through the computer, he found the file he was looking for and opening it with a heavy heart.

"Hello Mr Hoyt" Maura's voice burst into the room, startling Frost and forcing him to turn the volume down low. The surgeon's response was almost muted as he arranged the volume to a reasonable level. He listened closely. Maura had confided in him that she had had some fear of humans, the living ones at lease and yet here, confronting a vicious serial killer, there was no trace of fear in her voice. She sounded confident and in control.

Korsak stepped into the room, holding a file. Frost held up his hand to silence him before he had a chance to speak and so Korsak took a seat, watching Frost work as he tried to work out what he was doing.

Maura walked into the shot, confident and self-assured. Frost paused the footage and turned to Korsak. "Did you get anything?" he asked.

Korsak sighed heavily; it was the sound of a defeated man. "We can't prove the exact time Jane's place was ransacked, only the day." He began, "We know from the building manager and Jane's neighbour that they were in until 4 and heard nothing at all. Jane's neighbour says she can often hear Jane vacuuming so I think it's safe to say she'd have heard the intruder."

Frost nodded. It was a fair assumption.

"Jane was back here at the precinct with the DeLuca kid at about 5pm and we sent out patrols to guard her apartment at 6pm. They called it in at…" he glanced at the file, "6.24pm"

Frost nodded. "What about the doctor, where was she?" He wanted desperately to hear that she had a concrete alibi.

Korsak's face fell even further. "She came back with Jane but the lab techs say they didn't see her for the rest of that day. What are you doing?"

Frost looked up at the screens and hung his head. This wasn't looking good, his head and heart said there was no way this could happen and yet his gut wouldn't let him stop.

"Doctor Isles told me once she had a fear of people, live ones anyway." Frost said slowly as he set the footage back to the beginning. "Watch this." He played the file again and watched as Korsak studied the film. "She doesn't look so fearful to me." Frost croaked as Maura walked into the frame again and leant in close to the killer, slicing his prison issue jumpsuit open with a scalpel.

"Interesting choice." Korsak mumbled.

Both men watched as Maura questioned Hoyt. She filled the room with confidence, neither man could deny it.

"But don't worry Doctor." Hoyt's voice echoed in the silent room. "I'm not gonna kill you. Nah." Hoyt exploded forward towards her and yet, Maura didn't even flinch. Frost paused the film again.

"Why didn't she flinch?" Frost asked. "She's not an investigator, hell she'd never done an interrogation before this." Korsak studied him, catching on to his trail of thought quickly. "Anyone would be scared of this guy…." He played the footage again.

"He scares me." Korsak admitted. "He scares Jane!" He shook his head sadly, "And no one scares Jane."

"So why isn't the doctor scared of him?" Frost asked. His heart was breaking as he realised what he was suggesting. "She looks like she's playing with him." He admitted. "Watch this."

Both men watched as the doctor leant forward in her seat, oozing confidence. "I'm not afraid of you." She said. There was no tremor in her voice and neither detective saw anything that would indicate she was telling anything less than the truth.

"I know." Hoyt whispered a matter of fact tone to his voice. "Because you're like me."

Both men tensed. They'd seen the footage before of course but this time, it meant so much more.

"We need to speak to Jane." Korsak said.

"And tell her what?" Frost nearly choked on his own tongue. "You know she's not going to believe a word of this."

Korsak contemplated this for a moment. It was true; Jane would never believe the doctor was involved. "Ok, so we'll talk to Doctor Isles."

* * *

><p>Jane had packed up a few changes of clothes and some other bits and pieces and was sitting in Frankie's squad car. Neither Frost nor Korsak would answer their phones and she was silently fuming. It was her life on the line and neither man would tell her anything. She knew Cavanaugh was behind that. It wasn't the first time he'd forced her away from Hoyt.<p>

"Back to Maura's?" Frankie asked as he slipped behind the wheel.

"Yeah." She nodded, turning to stare out of the window.


	9. As It Seems?

Frankie turned off the engine and sat in silence. Jane hadn't moved since they'd left her apartment. She looked out the window but he knew she was looking at something deeper than the scenery.

"You ok?" he asked when, ten minutes later she still hadn't moved.

Jane stared at her brother, almost surprised to see him sitting there. She shook her head to try and clear her thoughts. "Yeah…" her brow furrowed as she spoke and Frankie started the car up again. He knew his sister well enough to know something was going on in her mind and that he was probably going to spend the day driving her around.

Jane smiled at him. For all the hassles her mother gave her for not trying to talk Frankie out of police work and into the family business, she loved having Frankie working so close by. He knew her and his instincts were great. "Let's go back to the station." She said. "Cavanaugh be damned!"

Frost drummed his fingers on the steering wheel. The patrols outside of Maura's had said she'd left shortly after Jane but, as Jane wasn't with her, hadn't thought to call it in. They didn't know where she would go other than to work or to a yoga class. They had checked out every gym and yoga class in the immediate area and come up with nothing.  
>"Let's go back to the station." Korsak sighed. He felt like this case was rapidly spirally out of his control. No one was where they were supposed to be and the evidence, although circumstantial was pointing to one of their own. He didn't like it one bit.<br>Frost started the car and together, they drove back in silence.

"Oh no Rizzoli!" Cavanaugh caught her stepping into the house almost immediately. "I want you outta here!"  
>Korsak and Frost walked in behind them minutes later and both men froze in place. They really didn't want to be a part of this and yet, they knew they were about to be pulled into it.<p>

"C'mon Boss." Jane said, "You know you _need_ me to catch this sicko. I need to be here."

"Not until we know who Hoyts new apprentice is. No way!"

Korsak cleared his throat. "We'll stay with her." He said, ignoring the incredulous glare from Jane as he guided her to the bank of elevators and pressed the button. "She'll be out before sunset!" he assured Cavanaugh as he shoved Jane into the small metal box, Frost hot on his heels.

"What the hell was that about?" Jane snapped as the doors closed.

"Jane, we need to talk." Korsak told her, his tone leaving no room for argument. "And you're really not going to like it."

She rolled her eyes at him. "When do I ever like Hoyt trying to kill me?"

"It's not that." Frost spoke up, giving Korsak a much needed break from Jane's icy stare. "It's just that…." His voice trailed off as he tried to work out how to tell her what little they'd found.

Raising an eyebrow at the young detective, Jane tapped her foot impatiently. The elevator pinged its arrival and they stepped into the silent office. Clearly business was good.

"Well?" Jane asked, striding into the office and sitting at her desk. Frost and Korsak looked back and forth between each other and her before Korsak finally spoke. "You won't believe what we're going to tell you but you need to listen."

Charles Hoyt paced the dark room, he had everything he needed and the best part was that no one would ever think to look for him here. It was perfect and it was time. He'd sent his apprentice off to collect a few remaining necessities and deliver his final invitation.

"Soon Jane." He cackled into the empty room. "Soon we will finish our game."

He moved the solid chair so that it was flush to the brackets he had previously installed in the concrete floor. He knew that given the chance, Jane would take that chair and smash it over his head. He considered her violence rude; there was no finesse to it, no dignity. Tightening the bolts on each leg, he tested their strength and, finding it to his liking, sat in the seat. In front of him was another identical chair, also bolted down, he was going to enjoy this game. He'd spent many nights planning the best way to kill her and now, with the good doctor's help, he would make her suffer first. Smiling to himself, he got to his feet and headed out the door to await his guests.

"You are officially out of your freaking mind!" Jane had listened patiently, fighting the urge to smack both men upside the head. "There is no way Maura is the apprentice, there's just not." She scoffed at the absurdity of the suggestion. If they only knew what she did, they'd see how ridiculous they were. Turning to rest her elbows on her desk, Jane noticed a simple blue envelope on its top.

"What's this?" she asked.

Both Korsak and Frost peered at the envelope before racing to her side. They recognised the familiar shade of blue and Frost plucked it from her fingers before she had a chance to open it.

"Hoyt." Korsak spat.

Both detectives watched slowly as Frost carefully peeled the flap open and peered inside. His mouth fell open as his heart sank into his stomach. While he wasn't a regular visitor to the Isles home, he'd seen enough to know what he was looking at right now. He handed the photograph to Korsak and pulled out another small sheet of paper. 'It's time Jane.' It read.

"You should see this." Korsak asaid, handing the photograph to Jane. She took it quickly, staring at the image slowly, her mouth falling open. The image was of her, of course, asleep on Maura's sofa.

"No!" Jane said. "It's not possible; she wouldn't do that, not to me."

Frost and Korsak looked at each other sadly. "We don't want to believe it Jane." Korsak admitted "but we do have to look at all the suspects."

Jane tossed the image on the desk; it froze her heart to look at it. "Maura doesn't cross contaminate. EVER!" Jane snapped at them, trying hard to ignore the photograph that seemed to have a magnetic pull. "She's smarter than that. Someone's setting her up."

Frost nodded. He preferred that option to any of the others he'd had to consider.

Jane got to her feet and shook her head. "You guys need to work out something else!" she told them, "I'm going to talk to the lab techs."

Korsak and Frost watched her leave. "Let's see if we can find out where this image was taken." Korsak sighed as he reached for the most recent image. To him it looked like it had been taken from the foot of the sofa. "Any ideas?" he handed it to Frost, knowing the younger man was more likely to come up with some technical way it could have been taken from further away.

Frost studied the image slowly. "I should go see the doc." He said softly, feeling his gut twist with remorse. "You keep an eye on Jane." He turned and walked from the office, leaving Korsak standing alone.

Jane marched into the lab, glancing automatically into autopsy and catching herself in the action. How often did she do that? Had she always done that? She knew that Maura wasn't there and yet she couldn't help but turn her head and look. She paused before the double doors, intending to go in.

"Detective Rizzoli." The soft voice caused her to turn. "Detective Korsak asked me to find you." Jane studied the woman before her; she'd seen her around the precinct and believed she was a crime scene technician; Jane scanned her for identification, and was surprised to see none.

Under the detective's harsh scrutiny, the younger woman spoke quickly. "He says there's a car in evidence that you need to look at regarding his case." She dropped her eyes slowly. "A blue prius." Jane felt her anger bubble up again, flowing just under the surface. Why couldn't he leave it alone?

"God damn it!" she snapped, turning towards the exit. "It's not Maura!"

Maura Isles sat in the small apartment and watched with morbid fascination. She'd been given a very clear set of rules and she knew what would happen should she disobey them. Charles Hoyt walked around the room, the master of all he surveyed. He held a scalpel in his hand and turned it slowly in the dim light. He smiled at her, his grotesque face twisting almost painfully with the action. A smile looked somehow wrong on his lips and yet Maura couldn't look away from it.

"So." He spoke softly, "How is Jane?" He returned the scalpel to its box turned to face her.

Meeting his eyes, Maura smiled. "She's fine." She replied. "I'm sure she'll be here soon." It was a statement of fact.

Hoyt laughed heartily. "Oh, I'm sure she will be." He agreed, tilting his head as he studied the doctor. She was a very peculiar person, it was the reason he had been so drawn to her in the first place. That and the control he knew it would afford him with Jane.

Outside, they heard a vehicle approach, slow down and finally stop, Maura guessed about half a block away. 'It's Jane' she thought, looking towards Hoyt who had also heard the vehicles approach.

Silence filled the room once more. There was nothing to say. From outside they heard someone coming up the stairs, groaning and grunting as they tried to move something heavy. Maura stared at her hands, crossed neatly in her lap. A wave of guilt flowing over her as she sat and stared; there was nothing she could do, she'd done more than enough already.  
>She felt Hoyt move to the door and open it, growling instructions to the person he found there. She couldn't hear the exact words but she didn't need to. She knew that Jane would be there, incapacitated and vulnerable and Hoyt would be making plans for her demise.<p>

"All the players are assembled." Hoyt said gleefully as he closed the door and returned his attention to Maura. "Are you ready to start our little game?" he chuckled as he ran his fingers through Maura's hair and felt her nod.

Frost had gone to Maura's home to find more information about the photograph and yet found the house to be empty. He'd called her cell and had reached her voicemail. With the house empty, the patrol officers had taken a break, the house was deserted. He'd snuck in the back gate and searched the garden, finding a small area atop an ivy topped wall where someone had obviously been sitting. After a brief search and concluding there was no physical evidence there, he settled into the flattened greenery and watched the house. From this angle it was obvious that someone could have sat here and taken the photograph with a long lens.

"Jane's right." He said, "She's being set up." He jumped from the wall and sprinted to his car, swearing loudly all the way.

Slamming the car door and forcing the ignition key home, he reached for his phone. "C'mon Korsak!" he mumbled as he spun the tyres in his haste to get back. "Answer the goddamned phone."

When he heard his colleague's voice, he didn't give him a chance to speak. "Get Jane now, she was right all along."

Korsak sighed heavily and Frost slammed the phone down, losing it under his seat as he put his foot down and prayed he wasn't too late.

Korsak ran. He hadn't run since his days as a patrolman but now he ran to the elevators, stabbing the down button fiercely. An eternity seemed to pass in the short trip to the basement and he burst into the corridor, his eyes scanning every room as he ran. When he saw nothing, he yanked the door to the lab open and grabbed the first person he saw.

"Jane Rizzoli." He barked at her, "Where is she?"

The young tech stuttered, his eyes wide with fear. "She…. she went to the evidence garage." His words fell from his lips. "To check a blue pruis you booked in."

Korsak pushed away from the man. "Who told her that?" he spat, sending a spray of spittle into the man's face.

"The new tech…. she said you told her to tell Jane."

"What's her name?" Korsak demanded.

"Robin Yoth." He stammered to the now fleeing detective.

Korsak and Frost burst into the office together. "Robin Yoth?" Korsak explained as he marched, fiddling with his cell. He had to get hold of Jane now.

"Yoth?" Frost looked at him as he punched her number in again. Korsak nodded. "It's an anagram. Of Hoyt!"

When Korsak reached Jane's voicemail again, he through his phone across the room in frustration.

Jane's head hurt, she tried to open her eyes but found only one would open fully. The other felt like it was the size of grapefruit. She groaned into the silence, the sound only making her head pound more. She looked around the room, dark sheets hung from every surface, covering any identifying marks. Her hands and shoulders hurt, she couldn't tell how long she'd been sat there but the pain in her shoulders said she'd been handcuffed in this chair for at least an hour.

Her mind ran. She'd been at the station, talking to the lab tech, when there was something about Maura's car… no. She was told about a blue prius, she had assumed it was Maura's. She smiled sadly at the thought. She knew Maura would reprimand her for making assumptions, using too many big words when; 'Rizzoli, you're a fuckwit' would suffice. Despite her situation, she smiled at the thought of Maura using the word 'fuckwit'. It would probably make the doctor physically ill to use such language. Shaking the thought from her mind, she continued to scan the room, looking for anything useful. Her range of motion was limited by the handcuffs which she pulled against violently. The clang of metal on metal told her she was cuffed to a pipe or something similar. She could see nothing, no door, no window, no weapon.

Behind her and to her right, Jane heard a familiar sound, the staccato beat of high heels on uncarpeted floor. She twisted as best she could to towards the sound.

"Hello!" she hollered, her throat dry and croaky.

A door opened and despite her best efforts, she still couldn't see who had entered the room…. But she knew almost immediately who it was.

Slumping forward in her seat, she felt her heart breaking in her chest.

"Hello Jane." That soft, velvety voice was one that she knew, that had comforted her in times of need and called her out when she was making herself crazy. She bit back the sob that threatened to explode from her throat and blinked back tears before looking up slowly and meeting familiar hazel eyes.

"Hello Maura." She replied.


	10. Paperclip

Time stood still as Jane stared at the woman she considered her best and only real friend. Her mind flooded with images of the time they'd spent together, days catching the bad guys, nights in the Dirty Robber or at one of their homes eating Chinese food and sharing a bottle of wine. All the crazy things they'd got each other to do. Run marathons, drink beer from a can. Tears spilled from Jane's eyes and she dropped her gaze.

"Why Maura?" she croaked into the gaping chasm that had opened between them.

Maura didn't speak; instead she closed the gap between them and lifted Jane's face slowly. Jane could see the tension in her jaw and she sniffed loudly, trying to pull her face from the other woman. From the corner of her eye, she could see Maura searching the area behind her, as if she was looking for something. Jane's eyes flicked back to Maura's, studying them closely before looking away again. She dropped her head and suppressed a smile as Maura raised the scalpel in her hand and sliced a small piece of hair from the nape of her neck, bringing forward a tissue and wrapping it, and the scalpel inside.

"You don't want to do this Maura." Jane choked on the words, allowing the emotion that flooded through her to the surface. She had to make this good. She trusted her gut, she always had. What she saw in Maura's eyes had told her everything she needed to know.

She watched as Maura turned smartly and left the room.

* * *

><p>Cavanaugh was purple with rage, his voice thundering around the entire floor and bring detectives from various departments into the hall to see what the commotion was.<p>

Korsak and Frost were powerless to shield themselves from the onslaught. They'd had no choice but to explain the case as it was when Cavanaugh had caught them in the hallway.

"Find them!" he screamed "And if they're dead, I'll have both your badges!"

Frost and Korsak turned on their heels and ran to their car. They had no idea where to begin but time was short and they had to do something. So they sped to Robin Yoth's home, hoping against hope that Hoyt would have left them a clue.

* * *

><p>There was a muffled scream in the hallway and Jane yanked hard on the handcuffs, trying to spin herself around to see where it had come from. She didn't have to try too hard, the door burst open suddenly bringing the screams into the room.<p>

Hoyt appeared, his wiry form dragging Maura in by her hair. She held his hands, trying to get her weight off of her hair.

"Get your hands off her!" Jane bellowed as he came into full view. Hoyt paused and grinned at Jane.

"My my, aren't we the protective one." He smiled, nodding towards the door. As the woman approached, he shoved Maura into her arms.

"You bitch!" Jane growled, trying to get to the lab tech who was securing Maura into the chair opposite her.

Hoyt laughed.

"Tell me Jane." He said as the technician left as silently as she'd entered. "Did you think your little girlfriend had betrayed you?" he studied her, his head tilting slowly to each side as he awaited her answer.

Jane glared at him but remained silent. She refused to give him the satisfaction.

Hoyt nodded when Jane remained silent and turned his attention to Maura who sat in her chair, her head hung as silent sobs shook her shoulders. "Don't you touch her you bastard!" Jane shouted, her voice filling the room as Hoyt pulled Maura's head back, exposing her creamy white throat.

"Aww Jane." He smiled at her as he ran his fingers over the doctor's throat, the scalpel in his hand glinting in the dull light.

"Don't you cut her!" Jane's screams echoed in her head making the pounding even worse. She fought against the ropes holding her legs to the chair. He had been careful to make sure she couldn't reach him from her seat, even if she did manage to release her legs.

"No?" Hoyt asked, running the dull side of the scalpel across the milky expanse.

"I'll kill you!" Jane screamed. "I swear to god I'll put that scalpel in your heart."

Maura coughed back tears. "Jane." She whimpered. She could feel blood trickling down the back of her neck from the chunk of hair Hoyt had wrenched from her head. "Jane, please."

Jane slumped in her seat, watching Maura sadly.

"What should I do?" Hoyt asked, as he stared at the detective. The hatred in her eyes pleased him. She truly was a worthy opponent, she would die spectacularly. "She disobeyed the rules Jane."

He stepped back and regarded Maura with some interest. "You don't want me to cut her?" he asked Jane over his shoulder. "Ok." He said before she'd even considered answering. He drew back his fist and punch Maura square in the face, her lip exploding and sending blood spraying across the floor.

He heard Jane roar behind him, the sound of her shoes hitting the floor as she writhed and fought to get to him made him grin.

He turned and looked at her. Her swollen eye, the bruising that was forming around her jawbone the fire that flashed in her eyes, to his mind, she had never been more beautiful. Maura slumped forward, the impact having knocked her out cold.

Jane caught a sob in her throat and glared at Hoyt. "Tonight, you WILL die." She promised him softly as he laughed and walked from the room, pausing in the doorway.

"Don't worry Jane." He said, '"I'll be taking you with me."

Jane tried to wipe her face on her shoulder, the awkward way she'd been sat made the task impossible but she needed to wipe the tears from her cheeks before Maura woke up. She watched as Maura slept a forced unconsciousness that was undeserved.

'Broke the rules?' Jane wondered, 'what rules?' She wondered as she pulled against the ropes holding her ankles to the chair and winced as they cut into her skin.  
>When many minutes of struggling didn't yield any fruit, Jane slumped back in her chair. If she had a hair grip or something, she could pick the handcuffs and get herself and Maura the hell out of there. She studied her sleeping friend for any sign of the needed accessory but saw none. It didn't surprise her, even if Maura was wearing one, she would never let it be seen.<p>

"Maura." She called softly. "Hey, Maur, come on sweetie, wake up."

Maura remained motionless, her head hung as her chest rose and fell in a steady rhythm. "Maura!" her voice broke with yet more unshed tears. "Please wake up."

Maura coughed and groaned as she tried to reach up to feel her lip. Her head hurt and her lip felt crusty and swollen.

"Maura?" Jane looked up at her, her eyes filled with tears.

"Jane. Oh god, Jane." Maura studied her closely, taking in every tear stain, cut and bruise. "I'm so sorry."

Jane smiled warmly and shook her head. "Where are we?"

Maura shrugged. "I don't know Jane." She started. "I went to the bakery after you left to get some of those cannoli I know you enjoy, even though the sugar content is far beyond a sensible daily intake." Jane couldn't help but smile, a single tear rolling down her cheek. In times of stress and fear, Maura's default state was walking Google and, watching her deliver facts and figures about the nutritional content of her favourite pastry, Jane felt her heart fill. For so many months she'd ignored the growing sexual tension between them, pretending it was all in her head. Even Hoyt could see they were meant to be together, he only ever went after couples and now here she was, sat across from the one person in the world who understood her, who wanted her so honestly and unconditionally but had never made that first move. And now she was going to die without ever having experienced that kind of love.

"Jane?" Maura stopped. "I'm boring you?"

Jane smiled at her and shook her head. "No, I'm sorry, I just… we'll talk about it when we get out of here."

Maura nodded. "So, you have a plan?" she asked hopefully. Jane couldn't wipe the smile from her face, she'd never noticed the adorable dimple Maura had; how had she been so blind?

"Do you have a brain tumour?" Maura asked suddenly.

Jane frowned. "What? No!" she shook her head "No, I mean, no. I don't think so."

"Do you have a headache?" Maura continued. "Feel dizzy and nauseated? You're definitely having problems with your emotions."

Jane rolled her eyes. "Really Maura?"

"You could have cerebral contusion, it can cause…."

"Maura!" Jane said firmly. "I'm fine."

The doctor cocked her head. "Then why are you smiling?" she was clearly confused by Jane's reaction. "That's not the appropriate response to our situation."

Jane shook her head. "What rules did you break?" she tried to spin the conversation back to their predicament. If she could work out what Hoyt was playing at, she could make some sort of plan.

"Hoyt." She began, looking towards the door in case the surgeon returned. "He instructed me to come in here and slice your neck. I wasn't to speak to you or tell you what was happening."

Jane growled, low in her throat and it was Maura's turn to smile. She loved the animalistic way Jane expressed herself. It was raw, primal and sent all sorts of signals to her body. She squirmed in her seat.

"He said there was a…."she paused, trying to remember the term "corpse button on your chair and if I tried to help you, he'd kill us both."

"Wait, a what?" Jane asked. "Corpse… a dead man switch?"

"Yes. A dead man switch." Maura made a mental note before continuing. "I'm sorry I couldn't tell you. But I wanted to check your chair."

It was all falling into place. Hoyt wouldn't use a bomb; it was too messy, too instant for his tastes. He liked the watching people suffer before they died, a bomb would take away his Big O. Hoyt wanted to terrify her, make her think that he'd gotten Maura on his side, to see Jane's reaction when her best friend came in to deliver the first cut.

"So why did you cut my hair?" Jane asked. It was the only part she couldn't understand.

"Hoyt said he had a camera, he expected me to bring back blood on the tissue to prove I had done it, so I cut a small strand of your hair and put that in the tissue instead." She grinned at Jane who returned her own smile.

"Don't worry, it won't show."

Jane frowned. "If he has a camera in here, then why would he need evidence you'd cut me?"

"Oh. Well yes. That's a good point." Maura hung her head, feeling ashamed that her logical mind hadn't made that connection.

"So there's no bomb and no camera." Jane concluded. "Do you have a pin or a clip or something like that?" she asked suddenly.

Maura grinned at her, a grin that lit up her face and a large portion of the room. "When I saw he'd handcuffed you." She swallowed slowly, in another other situation, having Jane handcuffed would thrill her no end. "I put a paperclip in my shoe."

Jane looked to Maura's feet. She was, as always wearing designer heels but her legs, like Jane's were bound to the chair.

"Erm, Maura?" Jane nodded towards the other woman's ankles. "How do you plan on getting to it?"

With an impish grin, Maura slipped out of her shoe and wriggled her foot. "I took Russian ballet remember?" She pointed her toes and pulled her leg up, the rope burning her skin as she struggled against it. "And Robin isn't very thorough and her work as a lab technician is substandard. I was going to replace her!" Maura wriggled her foot again, and with a final grunt, pulled it from the binding. "Et Voila!" she wriggled her bare foot at the detective.

"You're amazing." Jane marvelled. "But how is that helping us, unless you can bend that leg backwards and behind you, then we're no better off."

Maura rolled her eyes. "You really need to be more patient Jane." She said, leaning forward as best she could to try and get a look at the knot on her other leg.  
>Realising Maura's plan, Jane nodded. "Ok, it looks like a simple bow?" She couldn't hide the amazement in her voice. "It's tied at the front; you should be able to grab the end with your toes." Maura fumbled with the rope, her toes lacking the dexterity she had hoped.<p>

"Maura." Jane hissed. "Stop!" Maura froze in place and stared at her. Jane's head was cocked as though she were listening to something. "Put your shoe on."

Maura didn't question her but slipped her free foot back into her Balenciaga shoe and waited.

The door opened and Hoyt strolled in, as though he were entering a casual party.

"Ladies." He purred, staring into each set of hate filled eyes in turn. "Are you enjoying my hospitality?"

"Screw you Hoyt!" Jane spat.

"Ahh Jane." He stood in front of her and smiled. "You still dream about me." He leered, his eyes roaming her body hungrily.

"Now." He continued his focus solely on the detective. "Which of these would you prefer I used on your girlfriend?" He reached to his hip and Jane instantly recognised the holster Maura had given her for her birthday set firmly on his belt. His gnarled fingers running over the leather as he smiled. "I have this lovely gun." He said, pulling the weapon from the holster and turning it over in his hand, "But they're so impersonal, barbaric." He turned suddenly, aiming the weapon at Maura's head.

"NO!" Jane screamed and fought vainly against her restraints.

He returned the gun to the holster and regarded Jane curiously. "You know you can't get free." He told her, "and that fat cop won't save you again."

She met his eyes with her own steely glare.

"So why do you fight me Jane? You know we're destined to be together." Maura curled her lip. She knew Jane would never reciprocate her feelings but she couldn't understand how Hoyt could think Jane would do anything other than kill him if she had the chance. Even she had more chance with Jane than he ever would.

"Or do you fight for her?" he crossed the room and smiled at Maura. "The good doctor." Stepping behind her, he grabbed a fistful of her hair and pulled her head back as he reached into his pocket. "She's beautiful Jane." He told her, inhaling the scent of her shampoo as he raised the scalpel.

"Don't you touch her!" Jane knew she was playing into Hoyt's fantasy. This was what he did, it got him off but she couldn't stop herself.

"I wonder if you'd still fight for her if she didn't have a face!" His whole demeanour changed as the scalpel slid from behind Maura's ear to just above her jugular vein, leaving a crimson trail of life in its wake.

"You bastard!"

Hoyt laughed as Maura shook with tears. His hand snaking down across the exposed area of her chest. Jane watched him, his filthy hand touching her far too intimately. Maura remained silent, she could feel her skin crawling under his touch and her stomach flipped. She forced herself to meet Jane's eyes, pleading with her. Jane bit her lip, tasting the coppery flavour of her own blood. She was making it worse by shouting, she knew it.

He traced the scalpel across her chest, not hard enough to draw blood but enough to send the icy chill of fear through both women. When both Jane and Maura remained silent, he glared. They were supposed to cry, or shout or call him names. They were supposed to suffer. He sliced open a three inch gash across the doctor's chest and, although she whimpered slightly, she made no further sound.

Ripping the gun from the holster, he held it to Maura's head. "What if I shoot your bitch right now?" he spat at Jane. She tensed her jaw and forced herself to look away from the deep red line that was oozing blood onto Maura's chest and between her breasts. Taking a deep breath, she hoped that her silence wasn't about to kill Maura.

Fury boiled under the surface and Charles Hoyt fought the urge to pull the trigger and blow the pretty doctor's brains across the cement floor.

Before he could make a decision, a quiet knock echoed in the silence. Robin poked her head around the door. "Doctor." She whispered. "There's a problem."

Hoyt growled and tucked the gun away again as he followed his apprentice from the room.

"Maura, oh god Maura, are you ok?" Jane asked as soon as the door closed. Despite her better judgement, Maura craned her neck to look at the wound on her chest. It was deep and would need stitching. Her neck stung but she could tell that it wasn't as bad as it could be. Hoyt was playing with them, he could have killed her there and then with one swift swipe of the scalpel but had chosen to toy with Jane. Small cuts that bled would prolong the blood loss and make death a slow process.

"I'm ok." She said, the tremor in her voice making Jane even angrier than she had been. She didn't remember when she'd stopped being scared but she wasn't. She was boiling mad and Hoyt was going to feel the full force of her wrath.

"Can you get the paperclip, I have an idea." Jane said. She was going to get them out of here. And when she did, she was going to spill Hoyt's black blood across Boston.

Maura took off her shoe and worked at the knot on her remaining bound leg, finally releasing it and freeing herself.

"Well done sweetie." Jane tried to remain positive, she needed Maura to focus if she was going to get out.

"Ok, slide your shoe under the chair, as close to the post as you can get it." She instructed, watching as Maura did what she asked. "Now, stand up and turn 180 degrees." Maura swallowed loudly, her neck was starting to burn from the cut and she was feeling a little dizzy.

"Jane, I don't think I can do this." She admitted. Jane looked at her, searching her eyes and pleading silently.

"I believe in you." Jane told her softly. "But we don't have much time. Please try?"

Maura got to her feet and shuffled around the post so she was facing in the same direction as Jane.

"That's it, you're doing really well. Now, sit down and get the clip out of your shoe." Jane watched as Maura slid down the post and reached for the shoe, her fingers knocking it over before she pulled it to her and retrieved the paperclip.

"Now, this is going to be hard Maura but I know you can do this." Maura inhaled, forcing her mind to focus on Jane's voice instead of the terror that pounded in her.

"Take the paperclip and straighten it out to the first bend." Jane said softly. "Then you need to…."

"Hold on Jane." Maura fumbled with the clip. She wasn't as adept at working this way and even this simple task was taking its time. "Ok."

"Put a small end into bottom of the keyhole of the cuffs. You can feel it with your fingers."

Maura ran her fingertips over the cold metal, finding the hole and guiding the paperclip in.

"The bottom?" she asked, suddenly unsure if she was doing anything right.

"Yeah." Jane was getting irritated, she knew they didn't have a lot of time and yet she didn't want to rush her friend. "There's the large bit, then near your wrist, it gets smaller."

Maura closed her eyes and pictured the shape of a standard keyhole. Teasing the metal slowly, she managed to get it into the right place. "Ok, I have it." She sounded uncertain but waited for Jane to tell her what to do next.

"Now, bend it towards your body so that it's flush with the cuffs." Jane instructed her. She had never been so glad to be a cop. After a robbery had gone wrong at some point in the 60s when a cop had been handcuffed with his own handcuffed before being shot with his own weapon, BPD had run courses on escaping from your own handcuffs with the most basic of implements.

"Ok, I've done that." Maura told her.

"Good, you're doing really well." Jane was amazed at how composed Maura could be. "Now, take it out without straightening it again." She paused, giving her time to get it right. "Then put the hooked end back in the same place so that the hook is pointing to your body, press away from you and twist your wrist at the same time." She held her breath.

Maura got to her feet suddenly and turned to face Jane, holding both her hands up. "You're the best." She grinned as she crossed the floor and started untying Jane's legs quickly.

"Oh Jane." Hoyt's nightmare sing song echoed in the corridor and Maura skidded back to her seat, taking care to drape the ropes around her ankles again before holding her hands behind her. Hoyt sauntered back into the room he had blood coating his hands and Jane knew he had disposed of the problem that had interrupted them earlier. His eyes were drawn immediately to Maura's chest, the blood had run noticeably, covering the bosom of her dress with a dark stain.

"Maybe you're feeling a little left out." He stood before the brunette and ran his fingers over her heavily bruised cheek. Jane grinned at him. "Maybe I am." She replied huskily. "Wanna play?"

She brought her knee up hard and fast into Hoyt's groin as she used her limited range of motion to try and head-butt him. The action knocked Hoyt off balance and Jane kicked at his chest, sending him flying back into Maura who caught him by the hips as he landed with a crunch on her lap.  
>He bellowed at Jane, seemingly unaware that Maura had just caught him, and charged at the detective, his scalpel aimed at her throat.<p>

**BANG!**

The gunshot echoed around the room, deafening everyone in it. Jane felt the air leave her lungs in a rush and she started at Maura, the weapon raised in her hands. She looked down at lifeless form of Charles Hoyt, the top of his head bearing a large hole where the bullet had ripped through hair, skin and bone. He slid down her body, leaving a bloody trail over her skin and clothes before crumpling on the floor.

Jane grinned as Maura lowered the weapon slowly before setting it on her chair. She wiped the blood splatters from Jane's face and smiled warmly. It was all she could do not to lean in and kiss her. "Wanna get me outta these cuffs?" Jane asked. She felt it then. All those things that Maura had written about in her journal but never let Jane see, she felt in that moment. The heat radiating off the doctor, the desire that burned in her eyes. Her heart rate increased even more as Maura brushed her face gently.

Maura found her paperclip and worked the cuffs quickly, releasing Jane.

"Y'know something?" Jane said softly. "You really are a badass!"

Maura scooped her into a hug, squeezing the detective for all she was worth. Jane inhaled deeply, the warm cinnamon smell of Maura's shampoo filling her senses and warming her soul.

They pulled apart slowly and Jane reached for her gun. "Let's get out of here." She took Maura's hand and led her from the room, leaving Hoyt's lifeless body staring at the wall.


	11. Let Me In

**Inspiration for this chapter came from many sources, obviously the Rizzoli & Isles cast for making it the sexiest heterogay show on the tv.  
>The primary one for this chapter was Chely Wright and the song 'Let Me In' I heard it playing for the Rizzles part of this chapter, seems to fit them perfectly. You should listen to it, I can wait…. Ok, you're back? Good. That's that lined up.. let's do this.<strong>

* * *

><p>Ten days had passed in a flurry of activity. Korsak and Frost had been only minutes from finding Hoyt's hideout. It had been too easy, and so perfect. The abandoned building opposite the station had been a streak of genius on his part; no one had even considered it. Cavanaugh had calmed down and settled with a slap on the wrist for both men.<p>

Both Jane and Maura had been forced to take some leave by the department psychiatrist, on full pay as long as they both attended at least one therapy session a week for the month they'd been signed off, the latter being at Cavanaugh's insistence.

After the trip to the ER after escaping Hoyt's prison, Maura had been admitted for a couple of days, to ensure she had no lasting damage from her injuries and while Jane suffered a mild concussion and a hairline fracture to her cheekbone, she refused any sort of treatment until she knew Maura was safe. She didn't want to let her out of her sight ever again.

Sitting in the waiting room of the doctor's office, Jane tapped her foot impatiently, her bruises were fading slowly but they were still clear enough to draw stares from patients. She didn't understand why Maura had insisted on having the stitches removed by her doctor, she was more than qualified to do it herself.

"Thank you doctor." She looked up when she heard Maura's voice and smiled as she got to her feet. Wearing a simple, high necked sweater to cover the wound on her chest, Maura looked as stunning as ever. 'How did I not see this?' she wondered as Maura led the way out to the car.

"So?" Jane looked at her expectantly as they settled in the car. "What did he say?"

Maura fussed with her top, the fresh skin across her chest itched. "He said I'm fine." She glanced at Jane for a moment before returning her attention to the top. "Do I still have my overnight bag in the trunk?" she asked.

Jane frowned. "I think so, why?"

Maura smiled sweetly, "Could you get it for me? Please?" she added as Jane rolled her eyes but got out of the car and checked the trunk, returning with a large bag. "Thank you." Jane watched as Maura's smile grew, that dimple melting Jane's heart. She had to do something, say something. For the past ten days she'd been searching for the words, something eloquent and beautiful that would convey what she was coming to learn about herself. That she was head over heels, hopelessly in love with her best friend. And for ten days all she'd managed were the unpolished, ramblings of a 'school of life' student and South Boston native. They were clumsy and haphazard like Jane. They weren't good enough for the woman sitting next to her and she knew it. And so, with one final glance towards Maura, who was rummaging through the bag and sighing heavily, she started the car and headed towards the precinct where Maura was due at an appointment with the psychiatrist.

Traffic clogged the streets and Jane grew more and more impatient with each second. "Oh come on jackass!" she gestured at the driver in front of her who slammed on his breaks again for no apparent reason. "I should just get out and shoot him!" Jane said glancing at Maura who had pulled a top from the bag and was holding up in front of her as best she could.

"Now Jane. He's obviously lost, you could offer him help rather than shooting him." Maura scolded her gently as she squeezed the bag into the back seat. Following the lost driver down the road, Jane lost all concentration on the road ahead of her when Maura peeled her sweater off and tossed it into the back seat before sliding into the simple t shirt she had selected.

The crunch of metal on metal forced Jane's attention ahead of her. The lost driver had apparently decided to test his brakes again and Jane had rear ended him.

"Oh fuck."

"Jane really, it's so uncouth to use such language. You have a much wider vocabulary than that." Maura watched the other driver get out of his car, his arms flailing wildly. "Well sometimes; 'oh no, you big poo poo head' doesn't quite cut it!" Jane quipped as she stepped from the car to speak with the other driver.

For ten minutes Maura watched as Jane tried to calm the man. She could hear him shouting, threatening to call the police. Jane stormed back to the car, ripping the door open and gesturing for Maura to hand her something. "Pass me my ID." It was clear the detective had had more than enough of this guy so Maura opened the glove box and pulled out the wallet within that contained Jane's police issued identification. "I shoulda just shot him." She complained as she slammed the door closed and marched back to man who was still shouting at anyone that would listen.

Maura watched with fascination as Jane eventually calmed him down, her identification striking more than a chord of fear. He went back to his car and started searching for his documents. She watched Jane pace back and forth slowly, the gentle curve of her breasts down to firm and well-formed abs. Her tight fitting jeans that she had picked out for her on a shopping trip one afternoon clung in all the right places, giving Maura an excellent appreciation of Jane's rear end. She smiled devilishly as she imagined how it would feel to caress Jane's lithe body, tasting each delight and kissing every inch of her skin.

"What are you grinning at?" Jane asked as she slid into the car.

"Oh. I was just thinking." Maura replied, hoping she sounded more innocent than she was feeling.

Jane looked at her, one eyebrow raised in question. "Wanna share?" she teased.

Maura laughed. "I'd love to, but I'm already late for my appointment." She pointed to the clock and Jane sighed heavily. "Why did you rear end him anyway?" Maura asked, twisting in her seat to watch Jane. She had her thoughts, or rather hopes, on what had caused the brunettes lack of concentration.

"You're right. You're late!" Jane flustered, flicking the turn signal and speeding past the lost driver before continuing on in silence.  
>Next to her, Maura grinned. Maybe she wasn't the only one after all.<p>

Jane pulled up in front of Maura's house. Since the Hoyt incident, she'd barely seen her own apartment and despite no longer being on lockdown, she couldn't bring herself to leave. Her mother had been on the phone almost constantly since she'd found out what had happened and even been over and tidied her apartment for her. Being at Maura's was the only thing keeping her mother from wrapping her in cotton and storing her in a protective case.  
>Angela Rizzoli made no secret of the fact that she adored Maura and was pleased that she was there to 'look after my Janie' as she put it. Maura thought it was sweet.<p>

She stepped into the living room and kicked off her sneakers before opening the back door to let Joe Friday out into the back yard. She had at least an hour before she had to leave again to pick Maura up so she put on some coffee and stared at the antique side table. In the past ten days the journal it contained had occupied her thoughts almost constantly but with Maura in the house, she hadn't been able to find a moment to steal a glimpse. Their therapy sessions were usually consecutively and between doctors, hospitals, well-wishers from the department and various family members appearing here and there, neither woman had really had a moment to themselves.

She pulled open the drawer and smiled. It was still there. She pulled the book from its home and opened the cover, hoping Maura had finished her thoughts. To her delight, she saw the page filled and she slid back onto the sofa and read.

_You sit back and grin at me. Your silence is painful as you spread my legs wide and lick your lips hungrily. I reach down, determined to fulfil my own passions, for you to witness the power you hold but you won't allow it. I feel your hands firmly on my wrists and suddenly you're above me again, holding me prisoner within my own desire._

_For those few moments I drown in your eyes and beg you silently to take me completely. You finally speak, but only to tell me to behave myself before resuming your lusty silence._

_In its way, your silence fuels my passion further and I feel my wetness growing as your gaze returns to my clit, now screaming and begging to be consumed._

_I feel a finger caressing my wet lips, the most fleeting of contacts but guiding me closer to the edge of ecstasy._

"_Please?" I ask you, my voice a pitiful whimper. I seem to have pleased you as you tease my opening, pressing gently but never really entering me. In my frustration I press up into you, trying to force you inside me._

_You shake your head and I wonder how much longer you can play this game. You pull back and sigh, almost sadly as you reach for my hands, slipping your handcuffs on me and leaving me no choice but to do as you desire._

_From seemingly out of nowhere, you produce a blindfold and loving cover my eyes._

_I wait in the dark, I know you have left the bed and can hear you rustling around nearby. My mind runs with possibilities. What delights lie in store for me? Silence falls over the room and I sense you near my head._

_I lick my lips and you place your finger gently over them. I can taste your own juices there and I ache to have you between my legs._

_I feel you return to that place on the bed between my legs and I hope your own hunger has grown too great._

_Slowly, your hands run along my thighs and I feel your breath on my clit. Suddenly you're there, devouring me, filling me, my body responding totally as your tongue works its magic in me._

_As I hover on the brink, you pull away and I growl in frustration and I hear you chuckle softly._

_Your lips meet mine and as your tongue forces its way into my mouth, I taste myself there._

"_Tell me you want me!" you whisper and I tell you immediately. I can almost hear you smiling._

_There is a glancing caress over my soaked core and I gasp. I know what is in store and I beg you unashamedly._

_You slowly tease me with the tip of the strap on and I know I need it in me, need you to fuck me like a whore. 'Want' has no place now, I need it, the world is spinning and I need you to fill me with that toy._

_Still you tease me, its head glistening in the candlelight._

"_So you want it?" You ask, pressing it gently into me but never allowing me more that the head._

_When I don't – can't answer, it is torn from me, my wetness left empty and without friend._

"_Tell me you want it!" you demand._

_I shake my head and try to form words as you slip the head of that toy once more between my lips._

"_I need it!" I pant, straining against the confines I'm in._

"_Good girl!" you reply, pushing the full length of the dildo into me._

_Almost immediately, explosions fill me, flashing behind my eyes. Slowly you move in me, and my breath catches in my throat. You pull off my blindfold and as our eyes meet again we move together, your full length slowly moving in and out of me, filling me totally before leaving me empty and hungry once more._

_I need you to fuck me hard and yet I teeter on the orgasmic precipice as we finally make soft, slow love._

_I know you will never hold this out and I beg; "fuck me, bitch!"_

_It seems to push you over the edge; you pound my hot pussy hard, unrelenting, punishing my demand with excruciating pleasure._

_I feel you pulling my legs up, allowing your fake cock deeper access and as you pound away, you throw me into orgasmic oblivion, not once but many, many times over._

_With my passion and pussy both spent and sore, you place a loving kiss gently on my lips before doing the same on my well fucked pussy._

_As the desire burns and dances in your eyes, I grin…._

_Two can play at this game._

Jane fought to catch her breath, her heart pounded in her ears as she read the words before her. She squirmed against the rising passion and increasing wetness between her legs. She'd had no idea Maura was so fiery, so passionate. Not that she'd spent much time thinking about Maura in a sexual sense, until recently.

Her cell rang suddenly, making Jane jump and drop the journal. Reaching for the device, she grinned when she saw Maura's name on the screen.

"Hello?" her voice was a low purr, exuding sexuality and desire.

"J-Jane?" Maura replied.

Jane cleared her throat, hoping to shake the passion from her tone. "Yeah it's me." She had succeeded in shaking the want from her voice and managed to turn herself into an over-enthusiastic telemarketer, all in one motion. She rolled her eyes and hoped that Maura would get to the point so she wouldn't have to try and speak again.

"I was thinking." Maura said, her own voice having deepened and developed a husky tone to it that Jane couldn't recall having heard before. She smiled, knowing that Maura was probably having a similar physical reaction as her. She reached for the journal, skimming over the entry as Maura stuttered and fell over her words. She could picture Maura laid on the bed, her body bathed in candlelight.

"So would you like to?" Maura finished.

Jane grinned. "Oh yes." Jane replied, the husky purr returning. "I'd love to."

"Good. I'll be home soon." Maura replied before hanging up the phone leaving Jane no idea what she'd just agreed to.

When Maura walked through the front door, she was surprised to see the house empty. Jane had agreed to go and check out a new wine bar with her and some of their colleagues, and she had expected her to be ready when she'd gotten in. Placing the cartons of Chinese on the counter, she bent down and scratched Joe's head absently before fetching plates and serving the meal.

"Jane?" Maura called. "I got dinner."

Jane appeared, wrapped in a lilac towel, her wet hair cascading down her shoulders. The vision before her stopped Maura dead in her tracks, the carton hovering above the plate before falling with a loud 'splop' into her kung po chicken. She ripped her eyes away from Jane and fussed quickly with the meal, her hunger for the oriental feast vanishing faster than her desire was building.

Jane smirked, Maura was clearly flustered and she planned on taking full advantage of it. Reaching out, she brushed Maura's fingers with her own as she took the carton from her hand. "Let me help you." She shook steamed broccoli onto the plates and looked up at Maura, flashing her a brilliant smile.

"Are you ok?" Jane had spent the last half an hour practicing asking that question. It had to be loaded but seemingly innocent at the same time. If Maura liked to be teased, Jane was willing to oblige. She met Maura's eyes and her grin grew wider as her pupils dilated wildly.

"Maura?"

Jane fought the giggles as the doctor turned away from her, searching through the drawer for a corkscrew.

"I'm fine. Where's the corkscrew?" Maura replied quickly, her voice shaking as she spoke and forcing Jane to supress more giggles. She licked her lips and crossed to stand behind her, her hand coming to rest in the small of Maura's back as she leant in to her, reaching past her to large pot that held many a wooden spoon as well as the corkscrew.

"Where it always is." Jane whispered, her breath hot on the other woman's ear before she pulled back, casually trailing her hand across Maura's hip before turning smartly and taking a seat. She watched as Maura fumbled with the wine. It took her three or four tries before she released the cork and, with shaking hands poured two glasses.

"Are you sure you're ok?" Jane asked between mouthfuls. Glancing up from her meal and hoping she looked suitably nonchalant. "You're acting kinda weird."

Maura took a deep drink from her glass before settling it carefully; fearful her shaking hands might knock the drink over. 'She knows' Maura thought, watching Jane as she stuffed food into her mouth with her usual voracity. 'She must know.' Her mind ran, punctuated with images of Jane dropping the towel and taking her on the kitchen counter. It was unhygienic but oh so necessary to her right now. 'She's just being Jane' her mind argued, 'she's tactile'.

Jane watched, careful not to draw attention to herself as Maura argued with herself mentally. Her eyes roaming the Maura's body, warm, loving eyes that always managed to increase her heart rate, her gentle but adorable freckles that were often hidden under a fine layer of make-up, smooth creamy skin, now stained forever by Hoyts scalpel but still the most beautiful Jane had ever seen, and her bountiful bosom… Jane grinned, 'with remarkably hard nipples'. She licked her lips hungrily and forced her eyes up to Maura's.

"Maur!"

Maura snapped up, forcing her eyes to look only at Jane's. She wanted to unwrap the detective, toss the wet towel aside and drink in the goddess that stood before her, memorising every curve, freckle and scar, before tasting her warm damp skin, feeling every inch of the landscape before her. Instead she cleared her throat; she was the Chief Medical Examiner for Christ's sake, every day of her life she had to deal with situations that to most people were impossible. She could have a conversation with her friend without turning into a lovesick, swooning schoolgirl.

"Sorry Jane. My thoughts were elsewhere."

Jane smiled. 'No shit!' she thought as she stuffed another piece of broccoli into her mouth, chewing silently.

"So, where are we going tonight?" she steered the conversation away from the desire she could almost taste building around them and smiled when Maura let out a huge sigh. 'Probably of relief' she thought.

"Oh, there's a new wine bar opened up. Korsak and Frost wanted us to go with them, as their guests." Maura had never been so pleased to talk about anything other than Jane. "I think they're feeling guilty for suspecting me."

Jane stabbed at her chicken with a chopstick. "So they damn should."

"They were only being thorough."

Jane grinned. "So they're buyin'?" she asked, pushing her plate aside and licking her lips slowly.

Maura gulped, almost choking on her food as she did so. 'I really wish she wouldn't do that.' Instead, she nodded, not trusting herself to speak.

"Well you better get moving then!" Jane flashed her her best roguish grin before getting to her feet and rearranging her towel suggestively. "We don't want to miss their unhappy hour!" With that she turned and swaggered into the bedroom to get dressed, feeling Maura's eyes burn into her as she left.

"Jane?" Maura called after her friend, stopping her in the hall.

"Yeah?" Even though she knew that Maura couldn't see her, she leant against the wall, turning to look in the direction of her voice.

"You didn't happen to do any reading earlier, did you?"

Jane laughed into her hands. 'Busted' she thought, forcing a confused frown onto her face, she hoped she looked the part as she returned to look at Maura.

"No." she said, shaking her head slightly. "Why, should I?" Maura shook her head.

"No. I was just wondering if you'd seen the study in….."

Jane laughed. "I'm going to get dressed." She cut her off quickly when Maura's eyes flashed to the coffee table for a clue. She knew Maura couldn't lie and watching her struggle to find a study to quote was just mean.

Maura's head hurt. She was a composed woman; she only ever drank three glasses of wine. She knew her limits but with the evening's dinner events, she had lost track of herself. Korsak and Frost had overindulged both her and themselves in the wine bar; their raucous laughter had led to the manager asking them politely if they would mind leaving, which only made them laugh harder. Now, sat in the Dirty Robber and half way through her fifth glass of wine, she wondered if this was their best idea.

"Drink up doc!" Frost set yet another glass in front of her as he necked a beer.

"Yeah!" Jane agreed her own bottle almost empty. "Drink up."

Maura sighed. "I think I've had enough." She admitted, pushing the glass away from her and rubbing her temples. Next to her, Jane reached her hand out, rubbing her thigh softly.

"You ok?" she asked, ignoring Korsak and Frost who were now making various jokes. They'd clearly had more than enough.

Maura nodded. She felt her muscles tense and a familiar wetness grow as Jane rubbed her thigh. "I just don't like the feeling of being drunk." She admitted, causing both Korsak and Frost to dissolve into more laughter. "Will you take me home?" Her eyes searched Jane's and she felt her cheeks redden.

"No Jane, c'mon you gotta stay!" Korsak pushed her fresh beer to her. "I'll get a cab for the Doc." He hiccupped as he pulled out his phone. Jane looked to Maura, she was having a great time but it was clear that Maura wasn't enjoying herself as much as she'd hoped.

"Can I finish my beer?" Jane asked, taking a large mouthful of the beverage.

"It's ok Jane." Maura sighed. She was disappointed that Jane wanted to stay, but she couldn't help but notice that Jane's hand had remained on her thigh, very high on her thigh. "You stay and have fun. I don't want to ruin your night."

She slipped from the booth slowly. "Goodnight gentlemen." She smiled warmly at the detectives. "Thank you for your generosity." She headed for the door with Jane staring behind her.

"Here Frost." Jane pushed her beer to the younger detective, "Drink this." She got to her feet and followed Maura.

"Uh oh!" Korsak chuckled. "Looks like Jane ain't getting any tonight." He giggled childishly as Frost spat his mouthful of beer across the booth before joining him in the laughter.

"Maura!" Jane called, jogging down the street after her friend. She never failed to be surprised how fast Maura could walk in high heeled shoes. She pulled her jacket tight around her, protecting her from the icy rain.

"Maura!"

The doctor turned and waited, her focus drawn momentarily to the bar behind her as music poured into the street. She knew this song and felt tears building in her eyes. It was everything she wanted to say to Jane.

"Hey." Jane stopped in front of her, "I…" she stopped, looking towards the bar. She'd heard Maura playing this song in the bath when she thought Jane couldn't hear her. Maura noticed the flicker of Jane's eyes and caught her breath as Jane looked at her, rain dripping from her hair.

Jane reached up and wiped the single tear that fell from Maura's eye. Her hot hands caressing her cheek as her fingers wound into her hair. Maura could feel her heart hammering in her chest, she nuzzled into Jane's hand, and she just couldn't fight it anymore. The truth was, she didn't want to.

Jane leant forward, closing the already small gap between them, her heart pounding heavily and drowning out anything other than Maura. She saw Maura swallow heavily, her eyes flicking between Jane's eyes and lips. With a small smile, Jane pulled Maura closer.

"Jane?" Maura breathed, the word tickling Jane's lips.

As her lips tentatively met Maura's, Jane felt her head spin, the heady taste of Maura mixed with wine sent her spinning. She could feel the surprise in Maura's body but pressed herself into her, her tongue teasing Maura's lip hopefully.

Maura relaxed into the embrace, her body melting together with Jane's as the rain hammered down on them. It was everything she had hoped and more, her body humming as she allowed the kiss to deepen momentarily before pulling breathlessly away and staring at the woman before her.

She chewed her bottom lip thoughtfully. "Jane….."

Dark brown eyes stared at her sadly and Jane pouted. "So I did a little reading." Jane admitted with a smile.

Maura smiled. Reaching up, she stroked the back of Jane's neck before capturing the detective's lips once more in an urgent, hungry kiss. She felt Jane moan into the embrace.

"Let's go home." Jane said as she pulled back, resting her forehead on Maura's. "It's time to write a new chapter."


End file.
